An Akatsuki Valentines
by aminerklarinen
Summary: A request for my friend. SasoDei/DeiSaso, Itachi Suigetsu, Neji and Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for the hiatus but I've ACTUALLY been busy for the past few weeks. Quite a surprise considering I never actually do anything. Anyway, this came as a request from my friend who wanted something Valentine's-y for, well, Valentines (which I constantly remind her is AGES AWAY.) Apparently she's quite the SasoDei fan, so…enjoy, AC, and the rest of you who read this. I will update all my other fanfics ASAP.**

Valentine's Day was unimportant in light of the other items on the Akatsuki agenda, and they all found the day somewhat meaningless, but each and everyone one of them agreed that it was difficult to simply "ignore" the fact that it existed. Konan was the only member with no shortage of Valentine's Day presents, with her office in the Rain painfully carpeted in white chocolate seashells, roses, tulips and gold origami paper.

"Okay, bachelors," Hidan boomed on the first morning of February. "This year, something has got to happen. Something other than listening to another one of _her _damned singing cards," he jerked his thumb at Konan, who gave an exasperated sigh.

"Maybe you guys should advertise yourselves," she smirked, sliding her finger beneath the flap of a lemon-scented envelope.

"I don't approve of that," Pein deadpanned. "When I said we need publicity, I didn't mean that sort of publicity," he paused thoughtfully. "But it's a good idea,"

"So are we actually going to do it?" Hidan asked hopefully.

"No," Pein and Kakuzu answered firmly in unison. Hidan sighed in disappointment.

"This is just fucking depressing," he said.

Something the other members did not know was that Itachi, too, received hundreds upon hundreds of Valentine's Day presents, and last year he had actually spent it with one of the senders after hours of reading through all the letters, notes and cards that accompanied the presents. Itachi smiled into his hand, which was cupped over his mouth as he feigned a yawn. Hidan complained to no one in particular until the atmosphere was effectively blackened and the group disbanded, their moods clearly dampened.

**

Sasori slumped down on the wooden workbench next to Deidara, who had to be one of the most unaffected by the Valentine's Day chat they had held before. The Iwa nin was moulding a large clay cube and was humming a small song to himself as he worked his fingers into the brown, earthy material. Sasori found himself momentarily mesmerized, before he shook his head and slid the various vials from inside his pocket and set them on the table.

"What are you going to do today, hmm?" Deidara set the cube down and dusted his hands free of excess clay. He dipped his hands into the small bowl of water and then dried them on a towel.

"What I always do," Sasori answered, his tone flat. Deidara chose to ignore his partner's evident moody state and peeled another chunk of clay from the gargantuan pile.

"Hmmm…,"

**

Deidara had almost fallen asleep—almost—when he felt one side of his mattress sink, the result of someone settling their ass on his bed. He opened one eye lazily.

"Sasori no Danna," he croaked, his tongue heavy with drowsiness. "What the hell do you want?"

"Shh," Sasori put a small finger to his prim lips. His pale skin appeared to glow in the moonlight that seeped through his partially opened curtains. "Don't speak so loudly, you fool,"

Deidara arched his back in a stretch, and sat up, his hand reaching behind him to move the pillow so that it supported him. He rubbed his eyes.

"I was thinking about Valentine's—,"

"Oh please, un," Deidara stopped mid-rub and rolled his eyes at Sasori. "You're _still _not over that?"

"No," Sasori said, his eyes suddenly murkier than usual. "But hear me out before you make such remarks,"

"Fine, fine. For you, I make an exception,"

"I was thinking about Valentine's Day and how I have never spent it doing anything peculiar. Pein doesn't want us to do anything but _I_ personally want to spend my Valentine's Day well. I want something to _happen_,"

Deidara stared at him for a while, then slumped into his propped up pillow. "I shouldn't have made that exception. That was a shit explanation, un,"

"And I was thinking…do _you _want to spend it with me?"

_There _Sasori thought, not really liking the heat that had now come to his cheeks, making them feel like they were on fire. _I said it. _

Deidara blinked three times in quick succession.

"_What_?"

"Look," Sasori reached over and closed his fingers around one of Deidara's slender wrists. For the first time it felt unbelievably good beneath his touch. "I've never spent Valentine's with anyone before,"

"But…I'm a guy," Deidara stammered, unsure of how to handle the awkward situation.

"You think I didn't know that?" Sasori hissed. Then his features softened again. "But, seriously…don't _you _want to…?"  
"Have sex with you? No," Deidara was about to snatch his wrist away from Sasori's grip when it tightened. Sasori locked Deidara's eyes with his own.

"Come on," he whispered. "Just try it,"

He leaned forward and, even though he had no idea how it was going to feel or what he was doing, gave Deidara his first kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt extremely odd, but Deidara couldn't bring himself to really do anything about it. He really wanted to push Sasori away and tell him that it wasn't going to work, but there was just something about the moment that stopped him and prevented him from doing just that.

For someone so cold and boring all the time, Sasori's lips felt surprisingly warm and alive on Deidara's: the puppeteer had closed his eyes, leaving Deidara alone to experience the awkwardness that was him kissing _another guy. _

Deidara glanced nervously at the door, and, seeing no one, decided himself to just relax.

_After all…_he thought. _How would it hurt me, hmm?_

He stopped the kiss and shifted over on his bed. Sasori took the invitation somewhat eagerly and slid under the covers. Neither of them had felt another body in such a close proximity on a bed before and, while they both thought of it in a different way, they had to admit it felt kind of _good. _The fact that both of them weren't actually wearing much was an added bonus.

And for once, Deidara noticed how milky Sasori's skin looked: most of the time, it was hidden beneath the thick cloth that was the Akatsuki coat, and Deidara had not had the pleasure of seeing it in all its blemish-free glory. He couldn't help but reach over, as if entranced, and touch his own slightly tanned finger against the pallor of Sasori's arm.

Sasori watched him closely, seeing his younger partner in a much different light now that he was literally in bed with him: in light of the context, he saw Deidara as very eligible rather than very annoying. After the little taste before, he suddenly craved for more, but something told him it was better to do it slowly. Even though he was around thirty, through his life he had barely gotten any sexual experiences, though he had received plenty of invitations to. And it was now that he felt that he would accept those invitations, only right now he was the one doing the inviting.

His teenage frame made him smaller than Deidara, but he knew that he was always in the position of dominance. He reached over and pulled Deidara's body onto his own, quite liking the feel of Deidara's lean torso against his own. He was fully aware that he was cradling one of his own gender in his arms but the years past that contained not a memory of touching anyone like this before made Sasori hungry—for anything. He brushed the lock of blonde hair gently off Deidara's face and kissed him on the cheek: an almost motherly gesture if Sasori wasn't gripping Deidara's hip with his other hand in a way that made Deidara nervous. Sasori, his fingers still digging into Deidara's hip, nudged Deidara in the nose with his own and locked onto the younger boy's mouth at the first opportunity.

No matter how predictable it was, it took Deidara by surprise purely because he still thought it weird that his partner's thirst for this sort of thing made him turn to Deidara to quench it.

Sasori, having never kissed anyone else before, was surprisingly good at it. _No shit, _Deidara thought. _He's good at everything. _Sasori pulled Deidara a little closer, groaning a little as the blonde's body rubbed against his own. He wondered why he'd given all this kind of stuff a miss all those times.

He deepened the kiss and in seconds found himself reaching for his own pants, a movement which made Deidara, unbeknownst to Sasori, eyes widen in a complicated mixture of shock and curiosity.

_Is he going to…_?

Sasori broke off the kiss with a shuddering moan that in turn made Deidara suddenly aroused: not at the fact that Sasori's pants were about to come off but at the fact that he had just heard the infamous Sasori of the Red Sand _moan…in pleasure. _That and the fact that he was sharing his body with Deidara made the Iwa nin feel suddenly territorial. Hence, he was all of a sudden more eager than Sasori about this whole thing. He closed his fingers around Sasori's, much to the puppeteer's surprise and glee, and helped him yank his pants down.

"Deidara…," Sasori said somewhat warningly as the blonde began to reach for his own pants. Sasori was a little worried that since neither of them had any previous experience in this department that they were going to hurt each other if they weren't careful: and Sasori knew Deidara was impulsive when excited.

But Deidara paid no heed and had himself completely undressed in no time, his lips pressed against Sasori's throat, his darting tongue leading slick traces of wet stuff on Sasori's skin. He couldn't understand the sudden change in Deidara's approach on the situation, but, of course, didn't disapprove. He shifted a little, sliding his lithe body further beneath Deidara's. His eyes were drawn to the bundle of stitches on Deidara's chest.

"It's just another one of these," Deidara held up a hand and grinned as the mouth there chomped its teeth as if in greeting to Sasori. Sasori grabbed that hand and pulled it down, breathing hard as the previously untouched part of him _down there _met Deidara's.

"_Shit_," he whispered. His eyes fluttered and Deidara just laughed.

"I have to admit, danna," he said, removing the locks of hair that had been plastered to Sasori's cheeks by sweat. "You look _really good _when you're…naked," he blushed a little as the words left his lips. He still couldn't believe that he was possibly going to lose his virginity to his partner, another male, Sasori.

"Shush," Sasori couldn't help but smile. It was getting a little hot in the room, but he knew it was only going to get hotter, so he didn't complain. His hand slid down the arch of Deidara's back, the movement aided by the slicks of sweat that had cumulated there in a thin film, and pushed down, smiling in satisfaction as he felt Deidara's crotch against his own.

Things were only going to get better.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chap is shorter than any other I've done but I'm out of creativity here! And I have school on Monday…my Xmas holidays are over with a capital O. Well, normally, I would be starting on Wednesday (Tuesday is Australia Day : D ) but since I: a) go to an all-girls school and b) am, this year, a senior, I have to be school to meet my "little sister"… joy. **

Since neither of them had known anything much about, well, being in bed with another person, neither of them knew exactly what they wanted to do first. They were both fully aware that if they made too much noise, they'd be in trouble. However the endless amount of the time ahead of them balanced that out. No one would actually question their absence. As self-proclaimed artists, they both spent hours on time in their own room, so if neither of them were present the next morning, no one would bat an eyelash.

Not that the Akatsuki actually cared about each other that much.

Sasori ran his hands down the length of Deidara's body. He'd touched many human bodies before—it was part of his job as puppeteer—but he'd never actually felt one that was still pumping blood, still fully able to move. He'd only ever touched the ones that were close to death or were dead, stone cold. Deidara, on the other hand, had never actually touched anyone for so long. Ever.

Sasori, supremely satisfied, ran his hand back _up _and pushed Deidara's head down so that their mouths met. Deidara was more eager now, his slightly dry lips enveloping Sasori's, his tongue darting in and touching Sasori's all in a swift movement. Both of them had completely forgotten about how they'd started: instead, they were both wondering how it was going to continue. While Deidara only focused on Sasori's mouth, Sasori was trying to remember how each and every part of his body felt with Deidara on top of him. And as he was trying to imprint this all into his mind, he felt himself become—

"_Ouch_," he breathed, pulling away slightly from Deidara and looking down. Deidara chuckled to himself, not having to look down but wanting to because he wanted to see it. He could feel it against his leg.

"Aw, Sasori no danna, " Deidara said, reaching down. Sasori inhaled sharply as Deidara's hand neared. He couldn't possibly hold it in much longer.

_To satisfy myself _he thought quickly. _We're gonna have to do more than just his _he grabbed Deidara's wrist and in a moment had Deidara pinned down on the bed. Sasori got on top, and suddenly felt euphoric, an odd, rare feeling for him. He took in how vulnerable Deidara looked and that his blonde partner was now his for the taking: everything that was a part of Deidara was now available to Sasori.

A sudden, wild thought crossed Sasori's mind.

His heart thumped against his ribs in retaliation to the sudden thought. He suddenly felt nothing but a strong desire to make that thought an experience and, when it was over, a memory.

He yanked the blanket from where it was entwined in their legs, partially beneath Deidara, and threw it onto the ground. He wanted _nothing _between them.

Sasori glanced at Deidara.

"What are you going to do?" Deidara asked.

Sasori didn't answer. He leaned forward again and gave Deidara several gentle, brief kisses to calm himself down. He let his mouth linger over Deidara's for a few moments. Then he slid down. He looked at the…thing between Deidara's legs.

_It can't be that difficult…_ he thought.

Sasori had never been so tentative about something before, but when he impulsively gave _it _a swift lick, he couldn't stop the hot ball inside him that was growing by the second and consuming him in pangs of shameless desire. He caught most of it in his mouth and was rewarded for his venture when he felt Deidara buck slightly in response.


	4. Chapter 4

_That feels good. That feels really, really good. _

Deidara was still trying to believe that what was happening right now was very, very real and that he wasn't just dreaming: the hot wetness of Sasori's mouth was indeed between Deidara's legs and he was indeed giving him head. It just felt so surreal; not only was it a new feeling but Deidara never would've thought that Sasori and him would ever be _this intimate. _Sure, he'd had these sorts of thoughts before, but he always dismissed them with inner embarrassment that he was just being stupid and it was never going to happen.

Sasori's lips left Deidara's groin with a parting flick of the tongue at the tip just before Deidara came. It was pure coincidence: Sasori's lips were growing sore and he had wanted to leave the blow job alone for a while until his jaw recovered and lost some of its tiredness. It now hung slack as he crawled back up Deidara's lean torso and his body relaxed and he practically sunk into Deidara, groaning in pleasure at the feel of warmth and comfort provided by the Iwa nin.

Deidara, on the other hand, was still recovering. He wanted to push Sasori off so he could take care of his junk but he thought better of it as soon as Sasori relaxed onto him, his body shifting slightly in what seemed to be an effort to get into a comfortable position.

"Sasori?" Deidara reached over and retrieved the strewn blanket from the floor. Now that both of them were sweating, the brief wind that had blown just now had felt somewhat chilling and he didn't want either of them to catch a cold. He threw it haphazardly over Sasori, noticing how nicely it sat on the sleekness of his body. Deidara shifted a little, cringing as it hurt a little down there as Sasori's body chafed against his.

"Deidara…," Sasori's voice tickled Deidara's neck. The redhead breathed in and shifted slightly, feeling a sizeable amount of his leg dampen as it came into contact with Deidara's mess. "…I think we should stop here,"

"Damn right," Deidara reached down in an effort to sort himself out down there, in the process of doing so his fingers brushed against the inside of Sasori's legs, making the puppeteer groan in slight annoyance. "I've had enough anyway, un,"

"Going that far…it's too much for the first time,"

"But…," Deidara paused as he fiddled around a bit. "…I thought you were the adventurous one,"

Sasori snorted softly into the moonlit air. "Hardly,"

"So what does this…this mean?" Deidara's hand came up again and he used it to flip a lock of hair out of the way, leaving the curve of his tan shoulder open and looking very inviting. Sasori, as if under a spell, angled his head and bit lightly into the flesh, breathing in and trying to remember the scent of Deidara.

"It means you and I had sex,"

"I don't mean it in the literal sense, dummy," Deidara smiled playfully, winding a lock of slightly curly red hair at the back of Sasori's head around his finger, liking the contrast of his black nails against the red hair.  
"Fine…," Sasori said slowly. "…well, I don't consider us a couple, so much as a…," he paused to gauge Deidara's reaction to the couple comment. Seeing none, he went on. "I suppose, though, if you want to—,"

"No, no," Deidara said. "I don't want to call you my boyfriend,"

Sasori felt surprisingly stung by the comment, but chose not to let it show. He didn't want to seem needy.

"Neither do I," he said solemnly. He cleared his throat quietly. "So, what are we?"

"Friends with benefits," Deidara grabbed Sasori's head and lifted it up so that they could kiss. "That's what we are," he breathed before closing his mouth around Sasori's and finding the other guy's tongue with his own.


	5. Chapter 5

**Random author's note: it's Valentine's Day this week! And that means this fanfic might end soon… well, unless I can come up with more things to write about. I'm running out of ideas anyhow. **

Sasori dragged his tired, aching body out of his own bed. He'd trudged back to his room a mere hour before daybreak and he hadn't had much sleep, even though he was dead tired. His muscles were sore and his mouth felt chafed and raw: _the experience sure comes with downsides _he thought glumly as he rinsed out his mouth with a cupful of tap water. He grabbed his toothbrush and started to brush, scrubbing his teeth vigorously in a vain effort to make himself feel fresh again. Suddenly, his hand slackened and his toothbrush cluttered into the sink. Sasori cocked his head in confusion. What was wrong with him?

He retrieved the brush from the bottom of the sink but didn't continue the routine. He cleaned it and, not bothering with a shirt, glided as smoothly as he could into the blinding light of the dining room, where a ceiling-to-floor window offered a stunning view of a deep, winding valley but also let an ocean of piercing sunlight in that made a hangover or the result of an all nighter ten thousand times worse.

He glanced placidly around the room, a general sweep, and finding no waterfall of blonde hair he relaxed a little and trudged towards the fridge. Rather than his usual strong cup of espresso, he poured himself what Deidara usually drank: a tall glass of strawberry milk. Sasori had always seen strawberry is a very childish flavour and though he supposed Deidara was still a kid, he'd always disapproved.

Today, however, was an exception. Sasori smiled to himself, held the glass before him for a few seconds, contemplating, before taking a sip.

It didn't taste half bad. He was savouring the taste, rolling it around his mouth, tasting the heavy sweetness on his tongue, when Hidan's rough voice cut the still morning air like a knife.

"Chuck us a chocolate,"

Sasori licked the milk moustache above his upper lip and set the glass down with a gentle clink.

"Oh, it's you," Hidan stretched and yawned, his hair looking grimy and flecked with bits of dirt. "Thought it was someone else,"

Sasori said nothing. His body still ached, but after that mouthful of strawberry milk, his body had started aching for Deidara.

"So…chuck us a chocolate milk, will you?"

Sasori shrugged inwardly and poured some. He passed it to Hidan wordlessly, who eyed Sasori warily, unsure of the puppeteer's sudden obedience. Sasori could hold it in no longer he put his own glass down—it was still three quarters full—and walked as normally as he could out of the room.

Hidan shrugged. Sasori was always the weird guy.

**

Sasori found himself at Deidara's workshop—an extension from his room, and a modest chamber that was hidden from plain sight—with his chest feeling tight yet filled with air. He heard the sound of Deidara's fingers working and walked straight in, glad that this at least had a door that was able to be locked.

He caught Deidara by surprise when he hugged him from behind, pressing Deidara's back against his torso, burying his nose in the blonde strands. Deidara felt Sasori's fingers ever-so-slightly hook into his shirt, his black nails iridescent on the whiteness of the cotton.

Deidara felt a small blush creep across his cheeks and he briefly wondered if Sasori was blushing too.

"Hey," Deidara gently touched Sasori's elbow. "What's up, un?"

Sasori answered with his fingers, which dug a little deeper into Deidara's flesh, pressing down in the way which implied very obviously that Sasori missed him—even though it had only been a short period since they'd parted earlier that morning. Little did he know that Sasori had done a lot of thinking since then: Sasori, in truth, did not want to just be "friends with benefits". He didn't want to maintain a relationship, either, but he wanted to be Deidara's only one. He tried to think of Deidara sleeping with other men and couldn't take the thought. His head had started to throb and his eyes actually stung with tears at the hypothetical situations. He was a bit obsessed and he knew it, but…

Sasori's eyes blinked open and he peered through Deidara's hair. Deidara's fingers were lightly coated in smears and lumps of clay. Sasori smiled to himself and buried himself in the smooth curve of Deidara's neck and shoulder, his lips brushing against the skin there. He savoured the moment, willing Deidara not to do anything just yet. Or, if he did, let it be romantic…

But Deidara was thinking entirely the opposite: he was an eighteen year old boy. His sexual desires were far stronger than Sasori's, and with Sasori presenting himself to Deidara like this…

"Sasori," Deidara swivelled around. "Let's do it again,"

_Dammit, Deidara _Sasori almost rolled his eyes must maintained his usual demeanour of cold calamity. He tried hard not to show his disappointment and slight irritation.

"Please?"

Deidara didn't wait for an answer and, stripping off his shirt, embraced Sasori, wrapping the petite redhead in a firm hug, his arms curling around the paleness of Sasori's slender neck as his mouth—the lips a little dry as well—met Sasori's, with the tip of his tongue at the ready. Sasori felt the practically searing heat of Deidara's body, as if his desire, his passion had influenced his body temperature and now it felt like it was burning. Sasori wanted to stop him and tell him what _he _wanted to do—which was to cuddle and maybe talk a little—but at the same time he didn't want to tell him to stop. He didn't want to offend Deidara. He supposed he should be a bit flexible and let Deidara have his way before proposing his idea of having a romantic day. And touch on the whole friends with benefits thing.

Deidara savoured the softeness of Sasori's lips, getting that familiar feeling that he was about to get really, really turned on. He tensed his legs a little and counted to three before sliding his hands down from Sasori's neck to his hips.

"Take this off, danna," Deidara nudged Sasori a little with a push of his hands but, unable to stop himself, found himself reaching for Sasori's buttons and pushing the two halves of his coat apart, rewarded with the milky, firm skin stretched over knots of muscle that was Sasori's chest. Deidara pushed the rest of the garment off Sasori's arms and slid his hands up and down the slight arch of Sasori's back when he leaned in towards Deidara.

"Can we try…_it…_today?" Deidara asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Sasori looked at him in an almost bored way. But he nodded.

_Score. _Deidara grinned and pulled Sasori into him again, kissing the puppeteer's cheeks, his nose, his ear, then his jawbone, all the while his hands inching down towards Sasori's ass and crotch.

Sasori did nothing.

_I'll tell him after we—_

His thought was cut short when Deidara finally yanked Sasori's pants down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Valentines in a few hours where I am…**

There was already a thin coat of sweat making both their bodies' slick by the time they got all their clothes off, but they had hardly done anything except make out. Deidara was the one doing all the feeling, having taken his ring off, he had practically harassed every part of Sasori until Sasori felt like he was going to break apart from all the pain. Or maybe it was just how emotional he was feeling. He still wanted that cuddle, after all. He wondered again what would happen if he told Deidara he wasn't ready to have sex. Just yet. And if Deidara would take offence…

Sasori reached up and wiped the slightly disgusting lock of hair that had been plastered to the bridge of his nose and his forehead by sweat. Deidara's cheeks were hot and blotched with red. The gaze in his eyes were intense and suggested, unfortunately enough for Sasori, that he wanted it bad—and he wasn't going to be stopped. Or, if he was, it was going to be extremely difficult for him to. His eyes still locked on Sasori's he pulled the puppeteer in close. Sasori felt his heart beating wildly. He felt the burning passion. Sasori closed his eyes. Deidara's hands ran over the curve of Sasori's shoulders, sliding down the slight curve of his back. He leaned over and breathed Sasori in. _Well he obviously doesn't mind the sweat…_Sasori thought.

"Okay," Deidara said, retreating a little and planting a wet kiss on Sasori's chest, his tongue lingering on his nipple there. "Come here,"

Deidara motioned towards the couch at the far end of the room that he used for power naps. Sasori hesitated. He didn't know what to do.

In the end, he gave up.

He walked over. He knew what his position. Deidara was going to fuck him, that was for sure. He wasn't in the mood to do it. And Deidara was fucking horny.

He lay himself down carefully on the couch. He felt the material against his skin. He had goosebumps: everything felt sharp. Deidara got on top, panting slightly. He wiped the hair off Sasori's face, all the while, looking at him in a somewhat loving way.

"I never thought…," he began, then he stopped and shuddered. "…alright. Turn around,"

Sasori squeezed his eyes shut. He turned, his face turned on the side so that he could still breathe. Deidara's breath was loud in the room and in the sudden silence.

Deidara reached down, took the thing between his legs and gave it a small rub up and down for riddance of any tension or uneasiness there. The feeling tingled up his entire body and he choked back a small laugh of ecstasy.

_I can't believe I'm doing this…_his earthly delight and thrill at fucking Sasori showed on his borderline boyish features. He pushed back the thick lock of hair that always landed above his left eye and found where he was going to go almost instantly. Without thinking any more, he pushed into Sasori and as soon as he even so much as touched the inside of Sasori he had to admit that it was the best feeling in the damn world. As soon as he was in, thick and eager, Sasori himself felt that there was definitely heaven and hell: he had to admit—who couldn't—that it felt kind of weird to have something up there…but he could see the appeal. He shifted a little and felt that piece of Deidara slide a little further in. He could feel every part of it. His eyes widened and his small, child-like fingers clamped around a patch of couch.

"Oh _shit…_," Deidara fell forward a little, so that his breath was hot and wet on Sasori's neck. His eyes fluttered at the new feeling. He was euphoric. And it had hardly begun. Sasori felt a low, shuddering groan escape his lips and felt betrayed by his body. Physically, he loved it. Emotionally, he was regretting every single moment.

_This is sex, _he thought to himself as Deidara began to withdraw. _Not love. _

Deidara pushed in again. Sasori felt his groin grow hot. It was a torturous feeling, since his dick was pressed beneath him _and _Deidara, up against the slightly furry material of the couch. If he got a boner _right now _it would really fucking hurt.

And he did. It had nowhere to go. Except into the couch.

Now he _really_ didn't like the direction in which this was going. His body loved it. His body wanted Deidara to keep up with that groaning and thrusting. But inside…

_This is so gay…_ he thought. He felt Deidara up his ass again and fought back the urge to tell him to stop.

_Not now…not now…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Thanks for all those positive reviews: it's what keeps me writing this~:D It's really motivating and pleasing! And remember that Valentine's Day hasn't quite arrived in this fanfic yet, although it has for us:-**

As Sasori scooped up his clothes from the ground, Deidara was busy cooling down on the couch, his cheeks a blotchy red and his hair was a mess. He chuckled in amusement into the slightly stuffy air in self satisfaction. 

Sasori, on the other hand, was trying to ignore the pain in his butt while pulling his pants back on, knowing full well that that feeling in his crotch meant he was still completely aroused. If he succumbed, he would've gone over to Deidara's outstretched, toned, _naked _body on the couch and do him hard and quick, but his mind, with its somewhat intense thoughts of a real romance, were serious enough to stop him. He was thinking with his brain, not his penis, and for once he felt like he was doing the right thing.

"Hey, danna,"

Sasori felt the pants slide down his skinny frame until it rested on his slightly bony hips and he turned around. Deidara was still butt naked, his torso glimmering with sweat. Sasori couldn't help but notice every dip and curve of Deidara's body, especially since he didn't really have enough time just now to enjoy it, since Deidara was fucking him and all, and especially because he could see _everything _from his vantage point.

"What?"

"Did you like that?"

He grinned.

Sasori forced a smile. "How could I not?"

Deidara didn't detect the subtle bitter notes in Sasori's voice. Or, if he did, he didn't show a speck of interest or concern in it.

"Aw, Sasori," Deidara sat up, crossed the room and hugged Sasori. "I love you,"

Sasori tensed. It was because he knew that Deidara didn't mean it in the same way that Sasori would mean it if he ever said it. Deidara just loved him because he'd let him...

"Yeah," Sasori said after a while, his voice oddly distant. He patted Deidara's elbow. "Me too,"

**

"Hey, Sasori,"

Sasori sighed in frustration and dropped the scalpel with a metallic clang as it hit the tray of instruments he had set out on top of his desk.

"_What_?" he spat, swivelling around in his chair, wincing slightly at the brief pang of pain, to face Hidan, who was leaning casually against Sasori's door frame, his rippling chest bared. He looked—unbelievably enough—contemplative.

"Can't a guy say hello to his fellow housemates?" Hidan strode gaily across the room and settled on the edge of Sasori's bed. "I'm here to ask you a question,"

Sasori blinked dolefully for a few seconds and didn't say anything. It was more or less an invitation for Hidan to continue speaking.

"So I was wondering…do you reckon anyone here would mind if, you know, I brought a girl back here? You know…," Hidan nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "…just for Valentine's?"

Sasori's shoulders slumped in disappointment at the ordinariness of the question.

"Hm…I don't know," he answered vaguely. He retrieved the scalpel and ran his finger lightly along the blade. "We are meant to be an elusive organization,"

"Yeah, but...aw, that sucks," Hidan pouted slightly. It was kind of adorable.

"Bring her someplace else…given that you can find a girl who'd want to spend it with you,"

Sasori's voice was emotionless, so Hidan had no idea if he was being sarcastic, offensive or if he was offering some friendly advice. He chose the latter.

"Sure, sure…I just gotta know where to look," he paused. "That doesn't mean I want, like, a hooker or something…I just want…yeah," Hidan's hands had been gesturing somewhat nervously while he was speaking and as he went silent they fell in a heap in his lap. For a quick moment, Sasori wondered if Hidan was well endowed. He looked like he was.

"Uh huh," Sasori answered slowly. He tossed the scalpel over to Hidan, who caught it expertly and examined it.

"What about you, Sasori?" he asked after a while. He balanced it on one of his fingers. "What are you thinking about Valentine's?"

Sasori was silent for a moment. He was thinking about telling Hidan about spending it with Deidara since Hidan was being all serious about Valentine's, but…

"I don't quite know,"

"Oh, come _on, _Sasori," Hidan tossed the scalpel up and caught it in his fist. "Even a guy like you feels a little helpless around girls,"

Sasori smiled and shrugged. _Not girls, Hidan…_

Hidan walked over and dropped the scalpel back into the tray. He gave Sasori a brotherly smirk and a small punch in the shoulder.

"Chill out sometimes, alright?"

He left whistling.

**

However helpless Sasori felt whenever Deidara practically demanded sex, Sasori still wanted to spend time with his partner. He intended to pay him another visit after dinner, which was progressing relatively slow due to Hidan holding everyone up with yet more Valentine's day talks.

"Itachi, you pretty boy," Hidan pointed his fork dangerously at the Uchiha. "You've not shortage of girls. You should go choose one, have a good time, and tell us all about it,"

Itachi said nothing.

"Or not," Hidan said, forking the piece of lamb chop into his mouth. "But one of us should,"

"Enough. This is making me depressed," Kisame scratched his hair irritably. "I hate Valentine's,"

"Just because you cannot find someone to spend it with," Kakuzu laughed darkly. Itachi stifled one himself. Deidara touched Sasori's knee under the table, looking completely nonchalant over the table as he stabbed a piece of broccoli and shoved it into his mouth. A shiver ran up and down Sasori's shin.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Okay, has it seriously been that long since I wrote this? Guys: I've got two months until uni, but I have no idea if you guys still like my fics, but it's a past time and I'll stick with it now that I've got **_**nothing **_**to do:). Review or not, just enjoy!**

Itachi pushed his chair back with a scrape. He'd had enough of the dinner table conversation about Valentine's—_still. _He knew he wasn't one to complain about the fact that Valentines was all but overlooked in the Akatsuki: he did, after all, have plenty to choose from, which was more than he could say for, well, Hidan.

_It wouldn't be _so _hard if he just tried a little, _Itachi thought. He almost made a mental note to visit the Jashinist's gory room to give him some light advice, but then thought better of it. He hypothesized that the next morning, Hidan would gloat about how fucking romantic he was or something _without _giving Itachi credit. And that would tick Itachi off so much, he would retaliate, which would totally blow his cover. _It's not like they all think I'm a snow-white virgin _Itachi thought as he closed his door behind him. He slid into his chair and cupped his chin in his palm. Itachi heard the faint clinking of cutlery as the rest of the Akatsuki members finished up with dinner. Itachi sighed and averted his gaze down to his desk, where a few letters stood untouched and unread. He picked up the one on the top of the pile and slid a pale finger beneath the flap and opened the envelope. A scent of lavender wafted up, tickling his nostrils. Itachi wrinkled his nose a little. Then he extracted the letter, which was written on a smooth piece of card.

_Interesting. _

He saw an insignia on one side of the card: it was an orb of some sort. Itachi ignored it and flipped it over to read the message. Itachi's eyes widened in surprised delight as he read the message.

* * *

Deidara kicked off his slippers as he settled into his bed. He felt something beneath his butt and reached underneath to get it. It was a clay hawk. Deidara dusted it on the seat of his pants and blew on it before tossing it lightly onto his desk. He yawned, cupping a hand over his open mouth and stretching his arms out. It was early, yet he felt so _tired_.

"_Dei_daraaaaa,"

Deidara was rubbing his eyes hard when Hidan's voice boomed down the hallway. Deidara sighed and hid his feet back in his slippers. There was something about Hidan that made Deidara hide as much of his precious flesh as possible.

"Hello, Hidan," he said, keeping his voice leveled. His past conversations with Hidan seemed to always end in how much of a puny bitch Hidan thought Deidara was, and Deidara just nodding and agreeing because he couldn't be bothered arguing with someone whose ego probably made up for his…endowment.

Hidan walked in and plunked his ass beside Deidara, unfazed by the fact his broad shoulder was brushing Deidara's.

"I need someone to talk to," Hidan explained, not looking at Deidara much, instead playing around with the belt thing around his waist. Was it just Deidara, or did Hidan look…_slightly embarrassed?_

"I don't usually ask favours," Hidan steamrolled ahead. "But, you know, with V-day and all, I just—,"

He stopped abruptly and gnawed on his lip. Deidara snuck a glance at him. The ends of Hidan's silvery hair looked paler than usual.

"I'm, like, twenty-something," Hidan said. "I don't want to spend Valentine's Day alone for the twenty-something-th time in a row,"

"It's okay, Hidan, I know how old you are…,"

"I just need someone," Hidan blurted, purposefully ignoring Deidara's comment about his age. "Everyone needs someone, r..right?"

Hidan looked so awkward it was almost cute, and it almost made Deidara reach out and hug him. Almost.

"Right," Deidara answered slowly. It was still kind of hard for him to fathom that here was Hidan, the Jashinist, was here asking him for help _and _practically pouring his heart out. Deidara wriggled his toes in his slippers and let the silence cloak over them.

"So what do you want exactly?"

"Someone to spend it with?" Hidan said, as if Deidara had just asked if the moon was round. He stared at the blonde before the implication of his statement set into the atmosphere and he blinked a few times, blushing slightly. "I..I mean, isn't it obvious?"

Deidara's knit his eyebrows in confusion. "So you're asking me what?"

"To…," Hidan trailed off and looked at Deidara. Usually, you could _smell _what Hidan was thinking from a mile away. But tonight, the murky depths of his eyes were difficult to decipher. Deidara scratched his nose because of the awkwardness caused by Hidan's unfinished sentence. Hidan leaned in closer to Deidara. Dangerously close. His lips moved slightly, quivering. Deidara's eyes focused on those lips. They twitched, as if to say something, but then Hidan's head dropped, he growled in annoyance and he drew away.

"I can't," he said, as if that explained everything. "Just can't fucking believe it,"

* * *

The next morning, Itachi was gone and Sasori was up before anyone else. His eyes, with their permanent expression of blank woe, scanned the contents of the Akatsuki's fridge, looking for something to eat. Practicing with his puppets didn't require strenuous movement, but it always made him peckish. He'd been so carried away he'd forgotten to visit Deidara.

Sasori's eyes landed on an unmarked tub. He inspected it from the outside, but it was made from a foggy sort of plastic that made it impossible to see what was inside. He peeled back the orange lid and recoiled instantly, flinging the container away from him in disgust.

"Fuck that," he said under his breath. He had no idea what it was, and he didn't want to know. He looked around the kitchen, opened some drawers and swore again. He glanced back at the offending container in the open fridge.

"Here,"

Sasori was crouching, and he looked up to see Hidan's uncovered arm handing him a pair of stainless steel tongs. Just what he'd been looking for.

Sasori seized the tongs without a word and quickly clamped them around the container and flung it into the bin. Then he handed the tongs back to Hidan.

"What wazzat?" Hidan chirped, annoyingly chipper for 6 am in the morning. He played with the tongs, opening and closing it, as if applying the tongs to the air. He hitched himself up on the counter. Sasori said nothing and located another container, which housed a leftover can of corned beef. The puppeteer sniffed it just to be sure.

_Then again _he thought as he re-closed the lid of the container. _You can never be sure of what _exactly _is_ _in the Akatsuki fridge. _For all Sasori knew, the corned beef was finely diced ligament or something. He sighed a little in frustration, the emptiness of his stomach becoming more and more apparent for every second that ticked by. He put a hand over his stomach.

"D'you want breakfast?" Hidan asked, still playing with the tongs. He peered at Sasori with one eyebrow cocked, the only part of that facial expression he wore at that moment that resembled the normal, _typical _Hidan. The rest was too kind. His lips weren't turned up in a sneer of contempt, his eyes were far from disdainful and… Sasori shrugged.

"Yeah,"

"I'll make it," Hidan offered. He slid off the counter and tossed the tongs into the sink with a loud, metallic clang. The noise seemed to make him do a sort of inner double take, coming to the realization he was being _nice. _"I mean, you're being really slow…and all that," Hidan sucked in air from the side of his mouth, glancing nervously at Sasori, who was tapping his fingers almost lazily against the countertop. Not an ounce of gratitude was locatable in his heavily lashed eyes.

Hidan walked around him carefully and made a show of looking in the fridge. He was about to ask Sasori if poached eggs on toast was alright, but why would he? Why would _Hidan _ask someone what they prefer, and cook to their preferences?

"I'm making poached eggs and you're gonna like it," Hidan managed. Sasori was still tapping his fingers. Hidan put the egg carton on the counter. He awkwardly retrieved the tongs from the sink.

"Um...if you're bored," he said. He saw Sasori stifle what seemed to be a chuckle, then turned around to face the stove.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: At this point, I'd like to hastily announce I will now to blending this fanfic with another of mine, **_**Past versus Present, **_**in which the pairings are Itachi and Suigetsu, previously Sasuke and Suigetsu, and Sasuke and Neji. In **_**Past versus Present, **_**Itachi had brought Suigetsu back to the Akatsuki Lair, but let's just pretend he didn't…**

Hidan shoveled a piece of egg-yolk slathered bread into his mouth unceremoniously. While Valentine's Day jitters could change his behavior, he wasn't about to let them curb his eating habits. Sasori was sitting two seats down, across from him, and was making neat incisions in his focaccia with the meticulousness anyone would expect from a puppeteer like himself. Hidan didn't know whether to call the guy a carpenter, because his puppets _did_ look so wooden, but he knew as well as anyone they were human golems.

Hidan looked down at his plate. He still had three eggs to go. As a person who lost shitloads of blood weekly, he needed as much nutrients as he could get. And if that meant leaving close to no eggs for the rest of Akatsuki, well—

"Morning,"

Hidan looked up. Kakuzu was as buttoned up and neat as ever, gliding into the dining room with soft, almost noiseless steps. He watched as Kakuzu blinked expressionlessly into the fridge before stepping back with a salad bowl in his hands.

"I never knew that existed," Hidan called out. Kakuzu shot him a glance as he sifted through the drawer for a fork.

"I hide it," Kakuzu answered evenly. "So that fools like you cannot so much as touch it,"

As Hidan's partner, he knew best of the Jashinist's eating habits and frustrating tendency to ignore common courtesies and eat other people's food.

Kakuzu sat across from Hidan, who got off his seat slightly and peered curiously at the salad bowl. He _would _reach out and snatch a crouton if it wasn't for Kakuzu's tentacle-like threads at the ready.

"That smells fucking great," Hidan said finally, opting for the more civil approach. He felt Sasori look up with a touch of annoyance at Hidan's crude, loud voice. "Can't I have some?"

Kakuzu eyed Hidan critically. Hidan stared back at him, until it was evident that he'd lost before he'd even begun. The Jashinist sat back in his seat with a look of childish dislike and stabbed his eggs with his fork.

For the next few minutes, silence cloaked the room. It was certainly not unusual, but more than ever, Hidan wanted to break it. There was something bothering him. He opened his mouth to say something when Kakuzu said: "don't,"

Hidan's mouth snapped shut and he glared at Kakuzu. "What the fuck?"

Kakuzu was glad there was nothing in Hidan's mouth, otherwise his salad would probably have been sprayed. Nevertheless, he looked at his bowl to be sure. Fortunately, there were no egg-and-bread bits in sight.

"We all know you want to talk about Valentine's,"

"'We'? You and who else, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu jerked his head in the direction of Sasori, but said nothing. Hidan glanced at the redhead who was still chewing slowly, his eyes downcast.

"Yeah, well…,"

There was a silence again.

"Personally," Sasori spoke, putting his fork down with a melodic _clink. _His eyes were still trained on his plate as he dusted his small hands off on his pants. _He's certainly taking his fucking time, _Hidan thought maliciously. Sasori swallowed the last bit of his breakfast and turned to face the duo. "I would like to hear about what else Hidan has to say,"

"As you wish," Kakuzu snorted.

"See!" Hidan exclaimed at the same time.

Sasori smiled dimly.

"Um…,"

Hidan couldn't keep his eyes on Sasori, but then, he couldn't keep his eyes _off. _He wondered briefly if this was why Sasori could capture his victims so swiftly. His appearance was ghostly and doll-like, and his aloof-to-the-point-of-sleepy eyes were like a net. A glue.

"I'm still pissed," Hidan finally declared, weakly. "Pein _really _thinks that going out like a normal man at least _once _will jeopardize our image,"

Sasori didn't say anything, but finally released Hidan from his vice-like gaze. Hidan almost wanted to let out a breath of relief.

"Don't _you _want someone?" Hidan almost stammered. "Sa…Sasori?"

Sasori flicked something from beneath his black nails. "I suppose," he said, his voice almost a whisper. Kakuzu grunted.

* * *

**Author's Note: this is the first point where my other fanfic is effectively incorporated in. After a nasty confrontation with a cheating Suigetsu, Sasuke almost begged Neji to stay with him, and after many bitter exchanges of words and feelings, Neji has caved a little and is keeping Sasuke company. No word on whether or not he wants to reconcile with Sasuke.**

Sasuke inspected his glove for lint. He wanted so much to cry, but the last thing he wanted to do was blubber and pine for sympathy in front of Neji, someone he knew he could not possibly demand more of than his company. _Neji. _It was still difficult to believe that he was here, sitting next to him...not talking to him, yes, and probably not going to forgive him, but-

"Say something, Sasuke," Neji said gently. "Anything,"

Sasuke glanced at him sideways. The breeze was light and continuous, and Neji's familiar brown hair swirled majestically across his face. He was, however, not looking at Sasuke. His eyes, as always, looked literally blank, but unless Sasuke had suddenly turned into the world's dumbest shit, he knew Neji's mind was a whirlpool of emotions.

_He probably still hates me. _

"It's worse to keep them in," Neji continued. An eyelash had fallen right beneath his bottom eyelid, and Sasuke would have reached over to brush it off for him with his thumb, but the tension between them was still so palpable he didn't dare to even try. It was so extremely unlike Sasuke to be hesitant, and it even surprised the Uchiha himself.

"But I don't know," Sasuke murmured. He couldn't help but sneak another glance at Neji. They were only a few centimetres apart, yet it felt like miles. Miles and miles of unsteady and untouched ground, and they were standing on either end. Both of them were hesitant to step first, because they were both equally in the dark about whether or not the ground would break, but they both wanted to step in to some extent. Sasuke knew he had to make the first move. He _had _to. He owed that much to Neji. But his throat felt like it was lined with concrete and he could taste the saltiness of tears in his mouth. He reached up to touch his cheek. His fingertips came away wet.

"Here,"

Neji's arm reached out. Nestled in his palm was a tissue. Sasuke felt the Hyuuga's eyes on him as he reached out to accept it. Sasuke couldn't find the opportunity to graze a bit of Neji's bare skin, but he could feel the softness and warmth of Neji's palm through the tissue anyway, and that was all that was needed for Sasuke's heart to leap. Even so, his heart felt like it was filled with a bag of stones. It still felt unbearably heavy.

Sasuke wiped the tears away, feeling more and more inadequate as the seconds ticked by. He scrunched up the tissue.

"I liked him a lot," he finally said, sharply intaking a breath of air. He wasn't sure how Neji would react to such a statement, but it was a start. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed Neji's left eye twitch a little, and his mouth moving slightly in what seemed to be hurt, but otherwise he just nodded. "And...we were happy together,"

As soon as that statement left Sasuke's mouth, his mind reeled back to what that happiness was; did he and Suigetsu even do anything _other _than sex or some physical interaction?

_We did. Surely we did. _Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to think back. Him and Suigetsu were definitely a ying and yang match: each so different, yet they fit together like a jigsaw. Sasuke after some time had learned to appreciate and even adore Suigetsu's cocky manner, as far as Sasuke's adoration went, and he knew Suigetsu had always admired Sasuke's calm control and power.

"Were you?" Neji said. It wasn't so much a question than a statement, and Sasuke fleetingly wondered if Neji could read his mind.

_He could always tell what you were thinking, _Sasuke's conscience said quietly. _It's not the first time _it added in a patronizing tone. Sasuke shook his head lightly and brought the tissue back up to his eyes, just to give himself something to do other than stare into thin air and cry. It still hadn't fully hit him that Suigetsu had been seeing Itachi..._Itachi, _out of all people, behind his back, and for how long? They'd claimed they had met before Sasuke got in touch with Suigetsu, but still it wasn't like Suigetsu had told him, and Itachi didn't even stake his claim in the first place. _Son of a bitch._

"Sasuke,"

"What?" Sasuke snapped. He had been so deep in thought he'd forgotten it was Neji sitting beside him, and not some concerned stranger he didn't care about. His lower lip trembled when he saw an expression of hurt pass across Neji's usually emotionless features.

"This is unlike yourself," Neji continued, glancing at Sasuke's lower lip, which was still trembling. "So stop,"

Sasuke said nothing. From the outside looking in, Sasuke Uchiha was meant to be just like his brother: void of emotion. Even more void of mercy, compassion. It was what made them both so supremely and infamously fearsome. He was meant to be power hungry and just as powerful. But he could not even keep a firm hold on his boyfriend. _Ex..._boyfriend. He had two now, and he'd ruined one of them. Neji. And he'd let the other ruin _him. _Suigetsu. It was like karma.

The sky rumbled. Neji cast his eyes upwards. Sure enough, the sky was swamped with thick grey clouds who were threatening to spew all their guts out. Neji guessed the time was around three pm. He got up and dusted off any grass or bark that was stuck on his butt and forced himself to look at Sasuke, who still looked positively pitiful.

"It's going to rain," Neji said matter-of-factly. "Let's go somewhere else,"

Sasuke nodded wordlessly. He looked sadly up at Neji, who knew the Uchiha was upset, but was still taken aback by the sheer amount of emotion in his eyes. Neji wanted to hold him and tell him it was alright, that he still had _him _and he wasn't alone-_wait. _Neji coughed a little and regained his composure. _No. He doesn't deserve it. _

"I have a room at an inn nearby," Sasuke said quietly, his voice husky. He wondered if inviting Neji back to his room would send the wrong message, and if it was totally whoreish of him to make Neji spend some time in the same room he and Suigetsu shared, but he couldn't think of any other place. He watched Neji closely. No reaction. Just standing there, waiting for Sasuke patiently. Sasuke's shoe scuffed the grass as he got up. As he walked past Neji, he reached out a little with his pinkie to brush against the Hyuuga's. The electricity surged through Sasuke like wildifire.

_The chemistry is still alive, _Sasuke thought. That gave him at least a speck of hope that he could win Neji back. And get the fuck over Suigetsu.


	10. Chapter 10

Suigetsu scanned the room one more time. It smelt like mint, and it looked pretty much untouched. The only thing that was messy was the bed sheets, and it was damn obvious why. Suigetsu sniffed proudly at the memory. The mist nin rooted around in his bag for his water bottle when the door opened.

_Oops, _Suigetsu thought, plastering a serious expression on his face. _Definitely should've chosen a better time. _

Sasuke's eyes scanned Suigetsu. It was just like when they had first met…meaning Sasuke was looking at him like he was a worthless stranger who was no more worthy of his attention than a crushed bug beneath his feet. Before now, Suigetsu had thought with confidence that nothing Sasuke could do would bother him, whether it was having another boyfriend, dying in battle or even trying to kill him. But right at that moment, Suigetsu felt something that was an undeniable indication that he still felt _some_thing for Sasuke, no matter how miniscule it was. The blue-haired nin wrinkled his nose slightly in distaste of his own feelings. Then he suddenly remembered where he was, slung the bag over his shoulder and brushed past Sasuke and—Neji, was it?—with nothing on his face. He turned a little before he went down the stairs to check Neji out.

_Predictable choice of Sasuke's _Suigetsu thought. It was obvious that the Uchiha and Neji were two twigs off the same branch: guys who had stores of natural talent passed through blood, and who were unafraid to show it.

Suigetsu walked casually over to the reception counter. He would do this one last thing for Sasuke.  
"Room one-zero-seven" Suigetsu said. He reached in his bag and extracted a stack of bills. He held them up and smiled at the receptionist. "I'll pay for one more week,"

* * *

As soon as Suigetsu left, Sasuke pulled off his shoes and glared at the bed. He was definitely going to ask for a room change. But first, he needed to take a shower.

"Sasuke," Neji said. His voice was a stark contrast to Suigetsu's cocky, gruff one. Neji's was smooth and controlled. But of course he would sound that way: the guy was as well-learned if not more than Sasuke. Sure, Sasuke probably had more experience, better jutsu, but Neji was...Neji was Neji. His name might as well be synonymous with _genius. _

"I'm fine," Sasuke muttered. He glanced at Neji, who was inspecting the room with nonchalance. With those pale eyes, it was usually hard to tell exactly what he thought about anything. "Don't worry that much,"

Neji seemed to glare at him with what Sasuke noticed to be a touch of defiance, as if to say, _so what if I _want _worry about you?, _but out loud he said "Fine,"

Sasuke could tell things were going to be awkward for a long while yet. _I'll take a shower, _he thought, his mind a bit clearer than before. _Then I'll come out and tell him everything. _

Even at the thought of it, Sasuke was nervous. He ran a hand through his hair. Neji was watching as the strands settled back into place, framing the Uchiha's face perfectly.

"I'm going to take a shower," Sasuke managed to say. Neji's analytic brain wondered for a moment if it was an invitation of any sort. He wondered if he wanted it to be, then firmly decided he didn't.

In the end, Neji just shrugged.

* * *

Deidara said nothing as he thumbed a small well into the lump of clay. He thought about what Hidan had said to him yesterday. He glanced momentarily at Sasori, who was eyeing his stack of puppets critically. Even though the puppeteer's hands were by his side in a decidedly relaxed pose, his right thumb was rubbing his right pointer finger in annoyance. Deidara stifled a smile, proud that only he knew about this habit of his danna's.

"This puppet needs fixing," Sasori said suddenly, bending over and wrenching a scratched, female puppet from the pile. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular, really, but he knew Deidara would respond.

"What," Deidara said jokingly. "You want to spend Valentine's with _her_, hmm?"

Sasori shot Deidara a glare worthy of the ones Kakuzu gave Hidan. _Wow _Deidara thought, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning widely like an idiot.

"No, you buffoon," the redhead responded. He scanned the puppet in his arms and walked over to the work table he and Deidara shared. He took a moment to look at what Deidara was doing.

"She was an old favourite," he continued, picking up one of her arms delicately and running his eyes along its length. "When I was younger,"

"What happened?"

Sasori blinked dolefully twice before he answered. "She broke," he said simply.

"Um...right," Deidara looked down at his hands. One of them was busy chewing, and the other was trying to lick at the lumps of clay on the table. Deidara rolled his eyes and shoved that hand in his pocket. The mouth there gave him an annoyed bite.

* * *

_"I gave Itachi a love letter," Hidan said all of a sudden. Deidara's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Hidan strangely._

_"You _what_?" _

_"A love letter! You know, those-," _

_"I know what they _are, _Hidan," Deidara snapped in annoyance. "But seriously...Itachi? He's your choice?" _

_"Okay, before you say anything, I'm not like-," _

_"You wrote him a love letter, Hidan, what _else _do you expect me to say?"  
_

_"Shut up for a moment and listen to me, you shemale," Hidan said, giving Deidara a playful shove in the hope of reassuring him he didn't mean the name-calling. "I only did it because I think Itachi's up to something," _

_"One thing is for sure," Deidara muttered. "He's never going to be up _you_," _

_"Look, that's fuckin' gross," Hidan gestured wildly. "I don't even want ... I mean I'm not into that!" he glared at Deidara. "I mean that I think there's a reason why Itachi is the only one who's not whining over Valentine's," _

_"If you haven't noticed, Hidan, you're actually the only one who whines at length about V-day," _

_"Oi! Will you stop being such a little bitch? Just listen to me!"_

_"I'm _listening!"

_They both lapsed into a silence. Then Hidan grinned. _

_"I think Itachi has a lover," _

_Deidara furrowed his brow. It seemed impossible that Itachi was capable of anything other than the art of massacre. But then again, even _he _had a lover. Sasori. _

_"Y-you do?" Deidara stammered, suddenly nervous. If someone as, er, observant as Hidan could notice that the elusive Itachi had a lover, surely someone should have noticed that he and Sasori...  
_

_"That's why I gave him a _**love letter**_," Hidan said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He looked pointedly at Deidara, who said and did nothing. Hidan threw up his hands in annoyance._

_"Wait... you mean, you want to lure him out?" Deidara said. He made a mental note never to write or respond to love notes in the future. He didn't want him and Sasori exposed. It was a potential Akatsuki expulsion, and not to mention humiliating. It wasn't like he really thought that homosexuality was an embarassment: it was a joy for both him and Sasori, that was for sure, but he just didn't want to know what the others would think of him..and how his reputation would undoubtedly crash and burn should he ever be revealed as... "that type"._

_"Yes! Thank you, Jashin," Hidan mock-prayed. He grinned deviously at Deidara and elbowed him in the ribs. "So, you in?" _

_"In on what?" Deidara couldn't help but exclaim. He had to admit, he was doing a mini freak out inside, and even his palms felt clammy. Hidan looked at him weirdly. _

_"What's gotten into you? You seem so...actually, never mind. What I want to say is, you're going to help me and you will fucking have fun doing it," _

_Deidara said nothing, just scrunched his toes together tightly.  
_

_"I take that as a yes," Hidan said. "Because I was about to ask Sasori, but then i realized-," _

_Deidara closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Oh, fuck. _

_"-that _he _probably has a lover too," _

_As the word left his lips, Hidan's eyes glimmered.  
_


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: This chapter is so uneventful…but my creative juices are on low today**

The clay piece Deidara was holding dropped as his hand did an involuntary tremble at the memory. Even the mouth on his hand had stopped chewing so vigorously, although that was probably a coincidence. And was it just Deidara, or did the room just go _colder_?

He looked at Sasori, who hadn't noticed the supposed drop in temperature, and was in the delicate process of weaving chakra threads through the puppet. He always did this, to test if the puppet was still usable. And it apparently was: with one movement of his little finger, the puppet's head jerked up with a wooden rattle. _Come on, _Deidara thought nervously. _It does _not _look like Sasori has a lover. _But no matter how much Deidara tried to dissuade Hidan, the Jashinist remained a firm believer that Sasori had someone. At the end of the night, Deidara forced himself to be grateful that at least Hidan wasn't suspecting _him, _and was actually enlisting him for help. At least he had _some_ leeway.

"Danna?"

"Hmmm?" Sasori flicked another finger and the puppet's mouth dropped open with a weak hiss. There was a distant smile on his face. He looked like a kid with a new toy…_and actually, _Deidara realized, _he kind of _is _a kid with a toy. _He often forgot the young age that Sasori was at superficially. And he'd definitely forgotten his real age. It didn't really matter, anyway.

"Ummm…," Deidara couldn't bring himself to tell Sasori. He had the uneasy feeling that Sasori would probably confront Hidan about it, making him all the more suspicious. Or maybe he won't. Maybe he would act nonchalant. Either way, Hidan would know that Deidara had spilled the beans and would cut him off, _and _they would never know who Itachi was seeing, which was something Deidara wanted to know too. Surely it wasn't anyone within the Akatsuki. There was no one else who seemed into that kind of thing to Deidara.

The Iwa nin felt Sasori's eyes on him and looked up. The redhead was peering at him pointedly.

"You were saying?" he asked, giving Deidara the look he always gave him when he thought he was immature, stupid or inferior.

"Um…do you think…," Deidara struggled for something—anything—to say. He wrinkled his nose. "Do you think Itachi is up to something?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow and withdrew the chakra threads. "What do you mean?"

"I mean like—," Deidara glanced furtively at the doorway. There was no one. "Do you think he's seeing someone?"

Sasori let out a disapproving snort.

"Speculating now, are we?"

Deidara brought his hand up to his mouth and bit his nails out of habit.

"If Itachi Uchiha is seeing someone, none of us would know," Sasori said, sounding decidedly wise. Deidara nodded obediently. The puppeteer brushed some wooden chips off his table with the back of his hand and then stood up. "I'm going to get a drink. I'll be back,"

* * *

Unlike someone like Kakuzu, whose eyes flicked from side to side shiftily, Sasori's eyes seldom left the hallway in front of him as he walked towards the kitchen. He entered the cavernous kitchen-dining room-living room area of the Lair and opened the refrigerator, opting for a Popsicle instead. He knew it made him look even more like a boy, but it was a guilty pleasure he couldn't really hide. He reached for the distinct blue box at the back, avoiding Kakuzu's insulated ones that usually contained heads. It was a gross thought that Sasori's Popsicles were put in the same place as Kakuzu's decapitation trophies, but Sasori always made sure his box of treats were sealed again before he put it back. He turned around and put the box on the counter, nudging the refrigerator door with his head to close it.

"So they're yours?"

Sasori extracted a lemonade flavored one and looked up at the person who had just spoken. Kakuzu was standing there, carrying another identical white box under his arm. It seemed to glow ominously. Sasori tore open the wrapper neatly and disposed of it.

"Yep,"

"Hmph. I would have thought they were your little boy's,"

Sasori smiled politely and sucked on the Popsicle as he walked around Kakuzu. He had almost reached the workshop room he and Deidara were occupying when Hidan's bulk slid out from his room and blocked most of Sasori's path, smiling.

"Good day, Sasori,"

Sasori said nothing. Hidan leaned against his door frame like he had all day and he didn't really mind spending it being a complete fucking nuisance. Sasori felt some of the Popsicle melt onto his fingers, just a sticky drop on his pointer finger.

"Get out of my way,"

"I never knew you ate Popsicles," Hidan said at the same time. He scratched his head characteristically. "I didn't even know we had Popsicles," he added lamely.

Sasori took this opportunity and nudged Hidan aside, making a slurping sound as he sucked.

_And this is the reason why I got the blonde one to help_ Hidan thought, unbothered by Sasori's blatant and inevitable rejection of his attempt at a jovial conversation. He scratched his head again in the same spot, this time more vigorously. _Wonder how a guy like him gets a girlfriend. _

_

* * *

_

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as the steaming hot water ran over his body. The shower was loud and the torrent was strong, just the way he liked it. It helped him clear his thoughts.

Neji stood awkwardly. The rain has started to spit, and the curtains were billowing slightly in the breeze. As soon as he heard Sasuke turn the shower on, the knots in his stomach had untied themselves because he could finally hear himself think instead of hearing his heart thumping anxiously. At first, he wanted to handle the situation with nothing but resentment, but after a while it became apparent he was the only one who could stay with Sasuke without running the risk of having his throat slit while his back was turned. Not Itachi, not that Suigetsu guy, not Naruto or Sakura…but him, Neji. It was kind of a responsibility. And Neji Hyuuga accepted _all _responsibilities.

He rubbed his arms and tried to pull his sleeves down. The outfit he was wearing wasn't very warm, and with the rain, it was getting kind of chilly. He looked at the bed and its messy sheets. He didn't even need to sniff them to know what had happened. He opened the front door and checked out the landing. There had to be a linens closet somewhere. Probably down the hall. He found an appropriate door and slid it open. Sure enough, stacks of fluffy clean towels occupied one shelf, while another offered blankets, pillows and even coat hangers. Neji took the blanket on top and carried it under his arm back to the room. He shook it out and wrapped it around himself, settling into an armchair with as much dignity as he could muster. The shower was still going. Neji wondered if he should have gotten an extra blanket for Sasuke as well, considering the awkwardness of using the same blanket that he and Suigetsu had—

_Stop thinking of being such a good Samaritan, _Neji berated himself. _He hurt _you. _Don't forget that. He should be the one making up for all he's taken. _

And for once in his life, Neji felt empowered to be mean.


	12. Chapter 12

Sasori tucked a strand of Deidara's hair behind his ear. There was a small freckle on the lobe and he leaned down and licked it.

Deidara closed his eyes nervously and glanced at the door. _Thank God Hidan is the worst at stealth _he thought. _But…still…_he turned his attention back to Sasori, who seemed less active than usual. Deidara was certain that Sasori would have demanded he take off his clothes by now, but he was still just grasping Deidara's thigh firmly and kissing him on the neck.

Sasori drew away and sighed. He looked into Deidara's eyes, then lay his head on his shoulder. Deidara looked down. He looked like _such _a little boy, all curled up like that. The Iwa nin smiled to himself, amused by how innocent and simple the scene looked. He rubbed the guy's back affectionately. He knew they'd discussed earlier that they were merely friends with benefits—_not _boyfriends—but here they were.

"I'm tired," Sasori said suddenly. As if on cue, he yawned widely. Deidara had never really seen Sasori yawn, and it was really fucking _cute. _Sasori stretched out his arms a little.

"You wanna go back to your room then?" Deidara asked softly. Sasori said nothing, just dug his head into Deidara's chest like it was a pillow. He shifted the rest of his body in an effort to get comfortable. It was damn well clear that he wanted to spend the night with Deidara, there, in the workshop. It was vastly different to their usual routine. Deidara almost smiled to himself until he remembered Hidan.

_Jesus. _

The door didn't lock, and even if it did, what nin couldn't disable it? _Actually…_Deidara thought. _Hidan is probably one of the exceptions for a man at his level…_

But he couldn't take any chances. Hidan would definitely notice that Sasori wasn't in his room tonight, and then he'd visit Deidara to ask if he knew of the puppeteer's whereabouts. He'd see Deidara's empty room, put one and one together, and the two of them would be doomed. If Hidan wasn't such a bigmouth, the problem probably wouldn't seem as devastating as it did.

_Goddammit, _Deidara cursed again. He heard Sasori sniffle and he looked down again. The redhead looked well and truly asleep…at least, Deidara hoped he was. He scanned the room for a distraction. Sasori's childhood puppet—the one that had gotten broken—was lying on the table where Sasori had left it. Deidara reached into one of his deep pockets and drew out a small bird. It was tiny, and probably wouldn't last, but he needed it. With a simple hand gesture, the bird came to life, enlarging just a bit as it did so. Without Deidara telling it, it understood completely. It flapped over to the puppet, took of a few of its hairs between its beak and returned awkwardly to Deidara, trying its best not to drag the thing on the table and make a racket. Deidara accepted the puppet, glad that the hair wasn't brittle and didn't break. He looked down at Sasori as the little bird flew away and rested itself on a pile of wet clay in the corner, eyeing Deidara suspiciously. Deidara honestly had no idea whether or not it would work, but Sasori _did _say it had been a childhood favourite. He shifted a little to the right, away from Sasori, whose hand slipped a bit from his chest due to the movement. Deidara lowered the puppet, watching Sasori carefully. He heard his little clay helper flutter its wings impatiently in the corner.

_I'm coming, I'm coming, un. _

To Deidara's delight, Sasori wrapped his arms around the puppet, a subconscious realization that this was his favourite…and was it just Deidara, or did he kind of smile? Deidara smiled to himself despite his previously frantic state. He pondered for a moment, stuck in his own decision of whether or not to kiss Sasori on the head or something. He felt himself blush a little.

_Would that seem too…? _

The bird flew over and nudged his head with a talon. It was soft but its purpose was crystal clear. Deidara itched the spot and swatted the air where he knew the bird was. It flapped angrily.

He leaned forward slowly and kissed Sasori's head, wondering what his danna would think when he woke up and saw the puppet instead of Deidara.

_He'll never know when I made the exchange, _he reassured himself. _I can say that I left early in the morning, and didn't want to wake him up._

He opened and closed the door carefully, not wanting to wake him up at the last moment. The bird shot threw the gap in the door almost right before it closed. It landed on Deidara's head, next to his blonde ponytail, and dug its talons into his hair for stability.

* * *

"How was it?"

Deidara stepped back in surprise. Hidan was there, in his room, legs spread wide and arms stretched by his side. On _Deidara's _bed. He looked totally at home, and was smirking at Deidara arrogantly. Deidara gulped.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Sasori," Hidan leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together, his eyes glittering with malice, like he knew he'd caught Deidara red-handed.

_Wait—did he?_

_No. He couldn't have. _

He and Sasori's love-fest had lasted all but five, maybe eight minutes. There was no way Hidan could have seen unless he was in the room. And he was _not _in the room. The bird on top of his head chirped irritably. Deidara grit his teeth. He wanted to crush that bird.

"Stop playing games, Hidan," he said, choosing a neutral statement that suggested nothing. He glared at the Jashinist in what he hoped was in supreme annoyance. Hidan broke into a laugh.

"Calm _down, _dude," he patted the spot next to him on the bed. "I was just _kidding. _Fucking hell, you're funny,"

Deidara rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to sigh in relief. He felt Hidan's eyes watch him like a hawk's as he walked over and plopped in his ass next to him.

"You need to ease up," Hidan nudged him in a supposedly light-hearted way, but since it was Hidan, it came across as rough and mean. The bird squawked, alerting the Jashinist to its presence. Deidara braced himself for a nasty comment on it, but it didn't come.

"Okay, so tonight I couldn't keep an eye on him," he explained, sounding sheepish, as if he was reporting back to Deidara. He rubbed the back of his head. "Kakuzu kept me occupied,"

"With what?"

"Oh you know. Cleaning heads…and all that,"

Hidan pouted and continued. "But that old geezer chose a good night. Itachi didn't sneak off somewhere—and Sasori was with you," he looked at Deidara pointedly, but there was no suspicion in his voice or his eyes. Even so, the Iwa nin couldn't bring himself to look at him directly.

Hidan sighed in what seemed to be genuine disappointment that he couldn't make any notable progress. "Valentine's Day is only three days away," he threw up his arms in exasperation. After all, before Hidan had spilled the beans on his little Itachi/ Sasori investigation, he had been spilling his heart out about Valentine's. The funniness of someone like Hidan wanting another half almost made Deidara laugh if it wasn't for the fact that Deidara felt the same. He almost reached up to give Hidan a squeeze on the shoulder, but then thought better of it.

"Um…yeah,"

"Aren't you, like…worried at all?" Hidan blurted nervously.

Deidara looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Worried that you'll spend the _rest of your life _without having spent _one _Valentine's properly," Hidan chewed on his bottom lip. "And we're in this fucked-up organization. I'm not really one to be 'fraid of dying, but our chances are so much fucking higher,"

He seemed to choke on the last two words. Deidara remained silent. Hidan furrowed his brow and smacked him on the arm, hard.

"?" Deidara rubbed his arm and glared at Hidan again.

"Don't tell anyone I'm telling you this shit, okay?" Hidan burbled. Deidara laughed.

"I'm not gonna _tell on you _Hidan," he gave the Jashinist a friendly punch. "_You _should ease up too,"

Hidan could only muster a weak smile, but didn't say anything.

* * *

The moonlight spilled through the cracks in the ceiling. In the darkness of the room, it was silvery and pretty fucking romantic. Itachi thought so.

The abandoned stone compound had been cleared out a long time ago, and Itachi had always made sure it was his. A thick lawn of moss covered the ground, making it the perfect location for canoodling with a hidden lover. The vegetation that swamped the place oft reminded Itachi of Zetsu, but surely a guy as busy as him would never pay a visit to a place as dilapidated as this.

"Itachi…," the name slipped effortlessly from Suigetsu's lips, from betwixt his gleaming sharp teeth, as Itachi pulled down the mist nin's pants. Now they were both naked, blanketed beneath Itachi's Akatsuki coat. Itachi looked down at Suigetsu. All thoughts of his life outside of the guy left his mind as he pressed his lips on Suigetsu's, repressing the true hunger he felt for him, because he knew Suigetsu would take the initiative to make things rougher. To Itachi's elation, Suigetsu reached up and wrapped one of his deliciously muscled arms around Itachi's waist and pulled him closer. His other hand took a fistful of Itachi's hair and pushed the Uchiha's head down, forcing him to delve deeper into Suigetsu's own mouth.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Earlier that night**_

Sasuke turned the shower off, squeezing his eyes shut at the sudden silence that overtook the room. He'd made the glass and mirror all steamy, and he had to rub the surface with the towel that was around his neck. Normally, he wasn't _that _vain to check his post-shower self in the mirror, but he had to look somewhat presentable in front of Neji because…well just because it was Neji. If Sasuke had been fussy about Suigetsu's cleanliness, Neji was a hypochondriac extremist.

Sasuke rubbed the towel around his face, as if its fluffiness would wake him up and prepare him for his imminent confession. He looked at the closed door that separated him and Neji. He wondered what the Hyuuga was thinking about. Then he looked down at himself, with the other terrycloth towel wrapped tightly around his hips. He reached towards the sink, next to which he'd piled his clothes, put on the short sleeved white top and the blue track pants. He tightened the waistband and took a deep breath.

He walked out.

The rush of cold air from the main room mingled with the humid steaminess of the bathroom. Neji was seated next to the small table, wrapped in a blanket. He looked cold: the tip of his nose was reddish. Neji was always a bit more prone to cold than anyone else Sasuke knew.

Neji only glanced up at Sasuke as he came in. Sasuke sat tentatively on the edge of the bed and leaning forward, letting his wet hair fall over his face so he didn't have to look Neji in the eye.

"It all started when…when I wanted to get away from Orochimaru," he started. This was the easy part: when he didn't have to mention _Itachi _or _Suigetsu. _Nevertheless, he took a deep breath. "I wanted a team, of course, I mean I—," he bit his lip. "You know I'd very much prefer to go solo, but I needed helpers, to complete everything in time,"

Neji didn't ask what it was Sasuke had planned and was planning at that very moment. He'd decided ages ago he never ever wanted to know.

"The other two—you don't need to know about. It's just Sui..getsu,"

Sasuke choked a bit. Someone yelled outside drunkenly.

"Go on," Neji egged, his voice somewhat muffled behind the blanket.

"I went to him, and…the attraction was just…," he glanced at Neji with a pang of worry. This was one of the rare moments Sasuke felt truly emotional. "Are you certain you are okay with this?"

Neji's body seemed to stiffen.

"I'm fine,"

_I thought you'd tell me more about why you left, _Neji thought. _But I'll listen to this first, I suppose. _He hesitated to add _if it'll make you feel better. _

Sasuke swallowed hard. Neji resisted the urge to go over and pat him on the shoulder.

"I didn't _know _he and Itachi had a history," he went on. He fingers were playing with each other nervously. "It's just…highly improbable. Never would have crossed my mind. But they did, and for three months Suigetsu—," he stopped. "I always thought it was strange he would go away every once in a while, but I always thought it was a phase. I forgave him because it wasn't that often,"

Neji coughed, interrupting Sasuke's burst of speech.

"A…are you cold?"

Neji shook his head defiantly. Sasuke lapsed into a silence. His head was full of thoughts. Possibilities, what he could do…he got up and walked over to Neji, who looked adorably vulnerable. He pulled up a chair and sat across from him, purposefully close, so their knees almost touched.

"But…that shit doesn't matter anymore," Sasuke said weakly. Neji could tell he was still suffering from the ferocious impact of his cheating boyfriend and lying older brother. But thinking selfishly, all Neji could think about was _what about me?_

"What matters now is…,"

"If Itachi had not brought me to you," Neji interrupted coolly. "Would you have come to find me, and given me this explanation?"

Sasuke froze. _Fuck. _The thing was, he most probably wouldn't have—

"I knew it," Neji said quietly, his voice bubbling with repressed anger.

"I wouldn't have wanted to face you again after all tha…that," Sasuke protested, knowing he sounded like he was making up excuses. It was _partially _true. He had thought about all the things he would say to Neji if he ever saw him again, but none of it had played out like he had imagined. But most of all… he decided he would never, ever want to face Neji ever again and would try to avoid him at all costs.

Neji shot him an acidic look, well achieved through his pupil-free eyes. Sasuke frowned, looking so truly remorseful Neji made a note to soften his words a bit in the future.

"I never thought I'd see you again,"

"Why not?" Neji demanded.

"Because I'd feel ashamed of myself," Sasuke said. "I never thought that what I was doing was wrong. It seemed right to me, like the perfect road," his eyes shone at the thought. "but just…when I thought of you, all of that changed and I felt stupid,"

Sasuke paused, wondering if he should say the next part.

"I was just hoping…you know, like—,"

"Out of sight, out of mind," Neji finished, sounding hurt. _Dammit, _Sasuke thought. Even after all these years, Neji could still read his mind? What the hell was this? And why couldn't it work two ways?

Sasuke put his head down again. He looked at the blanket wrapped around Neji. The Hyuuga shifted uncomfortably. What Sasuke had just said wasn't exactly news, but he'd wanted to hear it straight from the guy just to be sure. The previous millions of options Neji had thought up ebbed away. Even if he'd prepared himself for such a verbal lash, it still hrut like thousands and thousands of needles stabbing into his heart and brain like they were pin cushions.

Neji coughed again, then sneezed. It made Sasuke look up again.

"Neji," he said. There was no pleading note in his voice. He was just saying Neji's name. But they both knew he wanted Neji to forgive him. Badly. Now that he was here, it changed everything. Maybe Sasuke did have something to thank Itachi for, for once.

Neji closed his eyes. He was getting kind of drowsy. He hated it when he was more susceptible to the cold than anyone else.

Sasuke knew this of course. He reached out hesitantly, slowly, testing the waters, and put a hand on Neji's arm. He gave it a light squeeze. "You want to sleep?"

Neji's eyelids drooped. He didn't want to admit it, but—

He got up. Sasuke's grip fell. Neji headed over to the bed, not giving a shit _what _Suigetsu and Sasuke had done on it and lay down, drawing the blanket up to his chin and kicking the rest of it over his legs. He shivered involuntarily, _achoo_-ing softly into the blanket. Sasuke walked over and looked at him with slightly worry. He reached over and closed the window, leaving a crack open for ventilation. He grabbed the blanket he and Suigetsu had shared the night before and tossed it into the basket in the bathroom. Then he walked outside, trying to locate where Neji had gotten the blanket. He found, took two, and walked back.

Sasuke placed one on top of Neji carefully. His sudden acts of homeliness were new, even to him. But he'd felt bad ever since he saw Neji's grown up face again, and…_I guess this is part of how I think I'm making it up to him. _Sasuke sat gingerly on the other side of the bed, the remaining folded blanket in his lap. His hair was still damp. Usually, he never slept with his hair wet, but tonight he decided to try it. He lay his head down slowly and pulled the blanket over him. He inched closer to Neji. Beneath his closed eyelids, Sasuke could see his eyes moving.

_He's dreaming, _Sasuke thought. He wanted so much to reach over and hug him to sleep. But he couldn't.

_Neji would kill me, _he thought sadly. Instead, he inched his hand forwards and slipped it beneath Neji's two layers of blanket. He found the Hyuuga's hand; one was tucked under the pillow he was sleeping on, and the other was placed near his stomach. Sasuke could feel his chest heave as he breathed. He let his fingers just graze his. No reaction. _He really is asleep then. _Sasuke's finger crept forward. He took a few of Neji's in his.

_Now I can sleep. _


	14. Chapter 14

Hidan carried the empty white container, moaning due to the heat of the sun as it beat down on his Akatsuki coat.

"Can we _please _take these fucking things off? It's only nine in the morning and it's already…," he stopped and adjusted the collar of his coat. Kakuzu kept walking, ignoring Hidan's childishness.

"Hello? Can we not be a slave for fashion?"

Hidan hurried to catch up with Kakuzu. The chunky necklace that indicated Hidan's belief in Jashinsim was sticking to his skin, the adhesive of which was his sweat. _Gross. _

Hidan was repositioning it when he bumped into Kakuzu, who had suddenly stopped.

"Oi, what the fu—,"

Kakuzu silenced Hidan with a glare and then motioned with his head to tell Hidan where to look.

"Huh? Who's that?"

Suigetsu turned his head at the voices. Two men in Akatsuki coats just stood there, looking at him. One had his face and hair hidden by a mask. Suigetsu could only effectively see the top half of his face, namely, his eyes. He had brown skin and alien eyes: greenish pupils on red. The other looked less intelligent, was carrying a white box with a red cross on the front, and had something metallic dangling from his neck.

Suigetsu cocked his head. _Akatsuki. _He looked in the direction he himself had come from. Surely, Itachi knew that he now had to hide lest he blow the lid on he and Suigetsu's intimate relationship, because they had no other reason to be in touch. He rested his weight on Zanbatou, knowing the duo won't attack him. Not as long as Itachi was around, that is.

"Morning," Suigetsu chirped. The guy who wasn't in the mask was clearly sweating his ass off. Unlike Itachi, his Akatsuki coat was practically open to his waist. Suigetsu could see the film of sweat on top of his chest.

_Hot. _

And while Hidan was wondering when Kakuzu was going to stop standing there motionlessly like a pole, Kakuzu was wondering how much this guy was worth.

_Probably not much, considering I do not recognize him. _

Then, surprise of surprises, Itachi appeared. His face registered no shock at seeing Hidan and Kakuzu. He barely looked at Suigetsu, and for a moment Suigetsu felt jealous that these guys lived, ate, and worked with Itachi.

_Lucky bastards. _

"Itachi?" Kakuzu said, his voice mellow. "Do you know this…?"

Itachi looked at Hidan who was looking at _him _in a weird way. It made Itachi slightly uncomfortable.

"I do," he answered hesitantly. He glanced at Suigetsu. "I followed him here,"

"I see," Kakuzu said.

"Why?" Hidan asked at the same time. Now _this _was interesting. Hidan felt a bout of boyish excitement at the prospect of dishing Itachi's dirt to Deidara when he returned to the Lair with a new head…and a new lead.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at Hidan's sudden, fervent interest. But then again, Hidan was always retarded, and got all up everyone's asses with his annoying questions. Itachi chose to relent.

"You ask him,"

Hidan and Kakuzu both turned to Suigetsu in unison.

Suigetsu threw up his hands in mock defeat. "He thought I'd lead him to Sasuke. But I didn't, and I'm not," he turned around, wrenched Zanbatou out from the ground and pointed it between Kakuzu and Hidan. "Itachi wouldn't listen to me, but do you dudes think that Kisame would like to see me?"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at this completely random encounter. All he wanted right now was to decapitate that Yaushito guy and get his money. Hidan furrowed his brow.

"Why would Kisame wanna see you?" he asked stupidly.

Suigetsu smirked and swing his sword about, but didn't answer. Kakuzu snorted. Itachi said and did nothing.

Hidan coughed awkwardly.

"Alright, alright! I know I'm the dumbshit here. Let's go, Kakuzu,"

"About time," Kakuzu growled. He eyed Suigetsu suspiciously as he passed by him, and Hidan just unbuttoned his Akatsuki coat and threw it onto the ground.

"I'll pick it up later," he explained as they walked. Then he sighed.

"Two days, Kakuzu! Two days!"

"Until what?" Kakuzu grumbled.

"Valentine's, _duh_," as he said this, Hidan looked back over his shoulder. Itachi was looking at the blue-haired guy with a look Hidan had never seen in his eyes before.

_Score. _

_

* * *

_

Sasori shifted in his bed, feeling something hard and wooden. He opened his eyes slowly. The puppet he'd been cleaning up yesterday night lay limply in his arms.

The redhead smiled a little. Not at the puppet, but at Deidara's thoughtfulness. He sat up and stretched, propping his legs up on the edge of the table nearby to stretch his limbs out. He went and opened the door, almost colliding with Zetsu.

"Oh," Zetsu turned. "Hello, Sasori,"

"Yeah, _hey, _Sasori," black Zetsu hissed.

Sasori nodded respectfully at them and walked out to the kitchen. Hidan and Kakuzu were nowhere to be seen, but what was obviously Hidan's plate was still on the dining table, the sunlight glinting off the grease. Deidara was there, though, nibbling daintily on a lettuce leaf. He looked decidedly nervous on seeing Sasori.

"H-hey," Deidara stood up. "Do you want some of this salad?"

Sasori looked down at the large glass salad bowl. There was still at least one more serving left in there. Next to it was a squeeze-bottle of French salad dressing, Deidara's favourite. Sasori personally preferred mayonnaise.

"Alright,"  
"Kakuzu gave it to me," Deidara explained. "He told me he wanted me to have it," Deidara paused and smiled. "Hidan looked like he wanted to kill him, because Kakuzu never lets Hidan have any"

"Haha," was all Sasori could offer. Hearing the other men's names come from Deidara's mouth with such a jovial air made Sasori kind of jealous. He spooned some salad into his bowl and squirted some mayonnaise onto it.

"I thought Hidan didn't like vegetables, though," Deidara went on. He had a fork, but he was using his hands to eat. He picked up a sliced piece of egg and put it in his mouth. Sasori ignored the comment. Since when was Deidara so _into _Hidan?

"Hmmm," Deidara sifted through his salad. Then he looked over at Sasori's bowl. "Do you have any bacon in that?"

Sasori smiled. He stuck a few pieces of bacon onto the tines of his fork and held it out to Deidara. The blonde nin looked around before leaning forward. He took the fork in his mouth and chewed on the bacon. "Thanks," he said, his mouth full. Sasori's face had grown hot. He slowly moved his fork back to him. Even though he had kissed Deidara many times, the thought that this was an _indirect kiss _still flashed through his mind. He hesitated to spear something on his fork and put it in his mouth. Deidara, meanwhile, seemed completely unaware that Sasori had suddenly been hit by the proposition that he was just _maybe…_actually _in love with Deidara._

_No. It's not possible. _Sasori never harbored any feelings, not for anyone, ever since that damned childhood of his. _Maybe I'm just misinterpreting things here. _

"Danna? Hello? Danna?"

Sasori caught Deidara's wrist as the blonde nin waved his hand in front of him.

"Watch it, brat," he said lightheartedly. "What is it?"

Deidara smiled, his mouth full, making his cheeks appear chubbier and cuter.

"Nothing. You just seem dazed,"

Sasori smiled and looked at his bowl of salad. Maybe it was because Valentine's Day lurking ahead, or maybe because...well, just because, but Sasori suddenly felt like his heart had been pierced by Cupid's arrow.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Countdown to Valentine's Day: 2 Days**_

"We haven't had a mission in days, un," Deidara pouted like a boy and squished a small bit of clay between his forefinger and thumb. "And Kakuzu and Hidan get two in a week,"

Sasori wasn't really listening. He was trying to busy himself with the knick-knacks—namely loose parts of his puppet creations—that were scattered in so many places around his room. He didn't know when he'd become such a slacker, and he actually _wanted _to know, so he could go back and ask himself what the hell he was thinking. Sasori picked up an empty powder bottle and dumped it into the cardboard box he had under his arm.

Deidara was sitting cross-legged on the bed, looking mighty bored with the situation at hand. _It's true, _Sasori thought in agreement. _The most eventful thing we have done in the past week is this clean up I'm doing. _

"This bites,"

"Well…," Sasori began. He knew it was immature, but he was kind of getting tired of hearing that Jashinist's name come out from between Deidara's lips.

_That's the fifth time from breakfast until now, _he thought, a teensy bit distraught. He wondered if Deidara ever mentioned _him _this much around anyone else. And, because Sasori was in love, and like anyone in the midst of loving someone whose feelings for you were unknown, he was being pessimistic and overanalyzing everything. Thusly, Sasori immediately doubted that Deidara would ever mention _his _name around someone else. Say, _Hidan. _

"…Kakuzu and Hidan's job is to keep the money coming in. Those heads in our refrigerator are practically our currency. We do not have a clear responsibility in this organization, and, thus, we don't really have Pein breathing down our necks all the time,"

Sasori took a breath. "You should be grateful,"

_Grateful that we can spend more time…just relaxing, like this, _he wanted so much to add. The cardboard box full, Sasori put it down and got another one. This sudden wave of love was all very nauseating, considering it had happened abruptly and completely overnight. It hadn't even loomed up on him first, giving him a chance to blush when Deidara's hand touched his, or even stay up all night thinking about whether or not Deidara liked him back. Because for sure, Deidara liked Sasori, but just probably not in the way Sasori would currently have liked. Or loved. Oh, what did it matter—_did I inhale something weird in my sleep? _

Sasori glanced at his partner, his fellow artist, someone who had been around him for so long, and who Sasori had appreciated so little. Well, for most of the time. This was, after all, their fourth year together.

Deidara grunted his response. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and watched Sasori.

"Do you need any help?"

Sasori shuffled around for a bit longer, purposefully ignoring Deidara's question, trying to retain his normal self. Actually, his normal self would be good, because then he would walk over to Deidara on cue and make the Iwa nin's lips sore because they had been kissing too much.

Deidara ignored the fact that Sasori was ignoring him and picked up a canister that was near his feet, almost under the bed. It was made of clear purple glass, and had an "X" mark on it. It seemed very old, because its surface was very scratched and worn and had obviously lost most of its previous vibrancy. He slid off the bed and walked over to Sasori, who was in his storage room.

"Here,"

Sasori resisted the urge to turn around in order to accept whatever Deidara had picked up for him. Normally, the other Akatsuki members used the extra room for working, but both he and Deidara used it for storage. In Sasori's case, it was for the storage of poisons, balms, ointments, concoctions and oils to keep his puppets well-maintained, well-equipped and presentable. Some of them contained simple compounds for Sasori play with and experiment, while some of the other pots that sat on the higher shelves could blind someone if they so much as touched it. Sasori liked to think of his little room as a sort of apothecary. Anyway, the point was, the fact that it was full of shelves made the space much smaller than it really was, and so Deidara was painfully close to Sasori, so that he didn't knock any of the stuff off the shelves. Normally—that is, before they started their whole friends-with-benefits relationship—Sasori would have been damned before he let Deidara set foot in here, but…

_Screw it. _Sasori fully intended to confess to Deidara he wanted to be _more _than just sex buddies at some point, and since Valentine's Day was conveniently nigh, Sasori decided he should make quick work of it and get it over and done with. The puppeteer had been bubbling with ideas and propositions ever since he and Deidara had left the breakfast table, during which Sasori had gone into a small inner-tantrum about Deidara's whole Hidan thing.

_You're blowing it out of proportion, _he told himself. _Deidara doesn't like that type. _

He turned around and almost jumped back at just how close Deidara was to him. Sure, it was nowhere near as close as they were on those steamy nights when they spent the night at each other's rooms, but there was something different about this. To Sasori at least, the closeness was more intimate than sexual. Sex could be intimate, but one wouldn't really think of it as intimate when you were having a one night stand. _Or being a booty call, _Sasori thought miserably. He took the bottle from Deidara's hands—letting their fingers touch in what he hoped was a casual way—and put it in the box he was holding. _Dammit. _Deidara was _still _standing there, like Sasori didn't have a big fucking crush on him and wanted to hide every time he saw him now.

Oh, wait. He actually doesn't know…_well, yet, _Sasori thought.

Sasori looked at the tip of Deidara's little nose, an easy job considering he was the taller guy, and noticed a smear of clay on it, still wondering how this transition came so quickly and so suddenly. Maybe it was the puppet gesture he'd woken up to this morning: the fact that Deidara had done that deliberately so he wouldn't wake Sasori up probably woke _Sasori _up in turn, opening up a little door inside him and screaming _this one's a keeper!_

Deidara was oblivious, scanning Sasori's storage room with interest. He'd hardly been in here ever before—he remembered when he'd just turned fifteen and, oddly enough, Pein had given him the whole speech about how it had been a year since Deidara was here, and that he should really grow up, grow some balls and be a man. Well, he didn't say those exact words, but Deidara was sure that was what he meant. Sasori had probably overheard, because he decided to let Deidara go into his special little room and have a look around. In the end, he gave Deidara a little container that _actually _had something in it. Deidara, of course, played it cool and didn't open it until he got back to his own room. After all, he'd been trying to earn the respect of his danna for ages, and he guessed this was kind of a mark of respect, giving birthday gifts and all. There was a high chance that the container was full of something stupid, but Deidara knew Sasori wasn't really the joking type. It turned out the container held something that Sasori used in _his _puppets when _he _wanted some BOOM to his battles. That is, there were tiny little explosive beads all packed tightly together in the little vessel. Deidara smiled at the memory. His still-naïve fifteen year old self couldn't bring himself to use too much, but was still able to impress Sasori to some degree by filling his explosive clay with a few of them.

_Actually, I still have that container, _Deidara thought. He walked out from between the two shelves where Sasori was and looked at the others.


	16. Chapter 16

Itachi woke up first. He couldn't rely on the sunlight to wake up because of the cold, impassive stone compound. He kicked something soft and he looked down. His clothes were in a heap; they were still using his Akatsuki coat as a blanket, and Suigetsu was still sleeping. The mist nin's body was throbbing with heat. _And so it should be, _Itachi thought with immense satisfaction. They'd spent almost the whole night salivating over and enjoying each other's bodies, and even when it had gotten extremely sweaty and it was hot and Suigetsu said he felt raw all over because Itachi had been too rough, they kept going. Itachi never felt so sore in his entire life. He looked down at his dick. He didn't even want to _touch _it. Suigetsu had given him a blow job, and although there hadn't been any teeth in it, Itachi even felt tender down there. Eventually, he relented and patted it softly when Suigetsu stirred, an incoherent murmur escaping his lips. Itachi smiled. He brushed some hair aside from Suigetsu's face and wished there was more light and ventilation in the place so he could properly appreciate Suigetsu's hotness. _Sasuke has great taste, _he couldn't help but think, a little proudly because he'd gotten Suigetsu in the end. Or in the beginning, since he'd fucked Suigetsu first, but whatever. He'd taken the guy's virginity. That was good enough to Itachi.

All sexual thoughts aside, Itachi had never actually felt this attached to anyone ever before. He looked observantly at Suigetsu's slumbering face. Did he really only like Suigetsu for his body? Really?

_Yes, _he wanted to say, so he didn't have to admit he was in love. But he knew _no _was definitely the right answer. There was just something about Suigetsu. Itachi had seen plenty of cocky nin like Suigetsu in his life, but this guy just had something different. Maybe it was the way he ate his yoghurt. Itachi had seen that, even though he was with Sasuke at the time, in a desserts shop. As his brother was content with a pot of steaming green tea and warm mochi, Suigetsu was working his tongue sexily around a pretty dessert glass of what looked like vanilla yoghurt with fruit bits. Itachi had conveniently noticed that Suigetsu didn't like honeydew melon. But from that moment on, that was when Suigetsu really had Itachi nailed. Not literally, of course.

"Gaaah,"

Itachi was pulled out of his thoughts. He felt Suigetsu's thigh move against his. The mist nin rubbed his eyes and brushed back his fringe. "What time is it?" he asked drowsily. He grinned lopsidedly when he saw Itachi. "Morning, sexy,"

Itachi inclined his head and peered through the cracks in the ceiling.

"I would say eleven, at the very least,"

"My, my," Suigetsu said, tracing a circle around Itachi's left nipple. "We're getting lazy, aren't we? Sleeping in like it's our honeymoon and we have nothing else to do but bask in each other's wonderful aura,"

Itachi's heartbeat quickened. What did he just say? "Do you have something to do?" he asked.

"No," Suigetsu answered, wrinkling his nose. His hand left Itachi's chest and he touched the Uchiha's jawbone. "But _you _do,"

_Right. _Itachi _did _have something to do that wasn't Suigetsu. He nodded in agreement, mollified.

"When will you be back?" Suigetsu asked as he pulled the Akatsuki coat further up his body. He tucked it under his chin. _Was he cold? _Itachi inched closer to him.

"Of that, I'm unsure,"

"Hmph," Suigetsu smiled. Itachi thought he'd say _I'll miss you, _but he didn't. Instead, he said: "come back to me in one piece, you hear?"

Itachi nodded. Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but it was pretty much the same thing.

"Definitely,"

Then he leaned over and kissed Suigetsu.

* * *

"You know," Deidara piped up. "I still have those explosive beads you gave me,"

"What?"

Sasori took a few steps back to peer down the row of shelves. Deidara was picking up random bottles, reading their labels with supposed interest. The blonde flicked a corner of a loose label.

"The ones you gave to me for my fifteen birthday," Deidara explained hopefully.

Sasori's mind reeled back. _Oh. _He went red at the memory.

"_Deidara. I expect you to heed my words," _

_Pein walked out of the room. He glanced momentarily, disinterestedly, at Sasori, who was standing near the door. Then with a whoosh, he disappeared into the air in a grey cloud. Sasori heard the little brat sigh inside the room. There was an obnoxious clunk as the kid set something down on his table. _

_It was his birthday? Sasori thought to himself. Well, that didn't mean very much. He didn't even remember his own, let alone celebrate others. He played with a loose thread on his long-sleeved shirt. Deidara was, after all, still kind of a kid. At least to Sasori he was. The short thing only came up to his shoulder. Hidan—that Jashinist be damned—once joked that Deidara was like his son, following him everywhere. Sasori supposed it might've looked that way. Might've, if Sasori's hair was orange or at least dirty blonde. That would give them some semblance. Or not, because—wait, why was he thinking about this anyway? It wasn't like it was true. _

_And at first, Sasori had resented that _he _had to be partnered with the newbie, but later he realized it was a good thing, because then he could have someone to boss around. Sasori hmph-ed to himself at the train of thoughts and swished into Deidara's the room. The Iwa nin looked surprised to see him. Sasori no Danna, in his room, uninvited? It was a rarity. _

"_I have something to show you," he said. "Come with me," _

_Sasori wasn't sure what he gotten over him, but he felt kind of obliged to give Deidara some sort of treat. He was pretty sure no other Akatsuki partnership extended this far, seeping into the personal zone, but…_

_Without a word Sasori nodded in the direction of his storage room. Deidara looked from it to Sasori._

"_I get to go in there?" _

_Deidara sounded like he didn't want to, like it was stupid, but Sasori knew he did. He often caught the little hooligan peeking into there longingly. Sasori almost sighed and nodded. He stood in the doorway as Deidara's eyes scanned the shelves. His avid interest was highly amusing. Then, all of a sudden, Sasori felt kind of lame just doing this, like some dumb excursion. He went back into his room. His puppets hung suspended in the ceiling. He shuffled through their hardened bodies and found one. He bent over and a little and opened a small slot hidden in its neck. Inside was a container of small, little black beads Sasori had fashioned himself. _

_Deidara was in the process of perusing the last set of shelves when Sasori came in again. He looked up at the redhead, who was holding something in his hand._

"_Here," he said. "Make good use of it,"_

Sasori couldn't help but smile. He remembered feeling responsible all the time for whatever mistakes Deidara made, but as the guy grew older and more distant, that feeling had diminished. Deidara had grown nastier, cockier, and Sasori had forgotten about the beads entirely. Until now.

"You do?"

"Yeah," Deidara chuckled. "I remember I couldn't bear to use them all, un, because…," he trailed off. He coughed into his fist.

"That's toxic," Sasori walked over and pushed the fist away, because Deidara was still clutching a bottle tightly. "Don't get your mouth too close,"

Deidara looked dazed. "Oh," he said simply. He looked at the bottle like he'd never seen it before and put it back. Sasori stood with both his arms around the box.

"Because why?" he asked curiously. After all, Sasori had seen the look in young Deidara's eyes when he was fourteen. Because Sasori was also an artist, he'd taken delight in this.

Deidara gulped. He wasn't about to admit he didn't want to use them all because he thought Sasori would never give anything to him ever again, and that gifts really meant a lot to him.

"I've forgotten," he said weakly. He smiled at Sasori. "Are you done yet?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: For all you people reading and/ or keeping up with this fanfic, I've just opened up a deviantART account under the same username, and it'd be awesome if you could take a look. My first deviation is of Deidara, Suigetsu and Neji, who you know play a pretty big part in **_**An Akatsuki Valentines. **_**Just type in my username (aminerklarinen) on Google and type deviantart in after and you'll probably find me.  
**

Hidan stumbled as he went into the Akatsuki Lair, grasping a human head in his hands. He was tired of the heat. His Akatsuki coat had been left out in the sun for so long it burned his hands when he tried to pick it up, and now it was hanging off the end of his scythe. Kakuzu had not known that another valuable head would be near the person they'd initially wanted to decapitate, and so he didn't have a container for one of them. Instead, he made Hidan hold it, because Kakuzu didn't want to get his hands dirty.

Deidara recoiled. "Hidan, can you _not _swing that near me, hmmm?" the blonde side-stepped to avoid the swinging head, because clearly Hidan wasn't really being all that careful with it. Some blood splattered like paint onto the floor.

"Watch it," Kakuzu growled. Hidan repositioned his grip and so that he held the head firmly, albeit in an unnerving way because it was a human head and he had his hands wrapped around it like it was a plush toy he'd won by knocking down rigged bottles at a carnival.

"So, any progress?"

Deidara almost spat out his drink. "Progress?"

"Yeah, you know…," Hidan snuck a look at Kakuzu, who was looking back at him impatiently. He leaned forward confidentially, the top of the bodiless head almost touching Deidara's arm. Some blood dripped relentlessly onto the floor.

"Sasori," he whispered. Deidara made a show of rolling his eyes.  
"You could still be wrong, un. He didn't go anywhere today,"  
Hidan pursed his lips. "Oh, Jashin," he straightened back up again. "Okay, Kakuzu let's get this over and done with,"

* * *

_**A few hours earlier**_

"What?"

"Your companion paid the bill," the receptionist repeated, gesturing at the open logbook in front of him. "You have six days left,"

Sasuke said nothing, speechless. Then he turned to Neji, who was busy looking at framed newspaper articles that were hanging on the wall. He smiled at the view and walked over. He reached out and nudged Neji's elbow gently.

"Let's go,"  
Neji just nodded. This morning he had woken up extremely hot, because he had been sleeping beneath two blankets. Sasuke had still been asleep, and had his back to him. Neji had felt a pang of disappointment, because he thought the Uchiha would try something more, especially given all the making up he had to do, but Neji supposed it was better this way. The hand-holding had been enough.

Sasuke took him to a nearby noodle bar, because he knew Neji liked hot food. He wondered if the Hyuuga would notice the gesture, the deliberation that had gone into his choice. He certainly hoped so, because it would help him climb a few bars higher towards Neji's forgiveness.

The two stood there in silence, looking at the menu, even though Sasuke knew he wanted. After an appropriate length of time, he asked "What do you want? I'll—,"

Neji put a hand on Sasuke's arm, but didn't look at him, making the implications of touch unclear. _Either way, it's a start. _

"I can pay for myself, Sasuke,"

The bitterness from his voice had disappeared, Sasuke noted. It was something that had been prominent in his tone the night before. He wondered what had changed overnight. Well, besides Neji's sudden and passing bout of sickness.

"I suppose you'll want Set A?"

Sasuke looked at Neji in bewilderment. Neji _still _wasn't looking at him, but Sasuke was sure his ex was smiling slightly in amusement. Sasuke decided not to answer him, defiant. This made Neji laugh quietly.

Neji had thought it over in his head the night before. Sasuke had probably thought he was, because he had very, verrryy slowly inched his hand towards his. He hadn't opened his eyes, but he could feel how Sasuke was through his hand. He could almost feel his pulse, which was beating like he'd just run ten thousand laps, and the heat from that single touch had spread all over Neji in an instant like he'd consumed his favourite herbal tea when it was winter. He knew it sounded incredibly cheesy, but it had woken him up a bit, although not that much. And Neji was a logical guy. Time heals things—it's just a matter of how long that time is—Neji had thought to himself. And he couldn't deny it no matter how hard he tried: he would still want Sasuke back in the end. So why prolong it all unnecessarily?

Sasuke resisted smiling himself, even though he felt like a balloon had been inflated inside of him. Neji not only touched him but was smiling and even laughing a little? This was a prize.

Sasuke walked forwards towards the counter guy.

"I'll have Set A. And he'll have…," he turned around and looked at Neji.

"I'll just have Set D. But I'll have vegetable instead of miso soup,"

The guy nodded. He accepted the separate payments, eyeing the odd pair. Even though he didn't know them, like Suigetsu, he could tell straight off they were two very alike individuals. It wasn't hard to tell, and the guy had been serving people for years in the noodle bar. He knew the type. But what he didn't know that sitting in his noodle bar right now was one Uchiha and one Hyuuga. He probably would have fallen backwards with amazement.

Neji sat quietly while Sasuke fiddled with his chopsticks. After a while, Neji decided to talk.

"You always did that,"

Sasuke looked up from his utensils. "What?"

Neji nodded at the chopsticks between Sasuke's fingers. "That,"

"Oh. Habit,"

Neji smiled again at Sasuke's strange mixture of play-it-cool but be-nice-to-Neji attitude, but he wasn't going to tell Sasuke he'd accept him back in his life. Not yet. He wanted Sasuke to come around on his own first.

Sasuke glanced at the counter guy, who was now cooking. It was early yet, so he was the only one in. He was probably the owner. Noticing that he was humming loudly while something sizzled in the pan—probably the meat Sasuke had in his set—he slid around on his stool to face Neji. Neji wasn't the only one who had thought about many things that night. After all, how could they not? It was their first time together, breathing the same air, sleeping in the same _bed _in two years. Two years, but what seemed to be much longer. Sasuke had already been stupid once. He knew, from the moment he started explaining to Neji, that his ex-boyfriend _really _wanted nothing more than to be emotionally pursued again. When Itachi first brought Neji to him, Neji had coldly and bluntly pushed Sasuke away, because it seemed like Sasuke had thrown him away like a ragdoll and then, after having another person throw _him _away, he wanted his old one back. But now Sasuke knew what he had to do. It was kind of the only thing he could do, actually.

"I know it'll always hurt you," he began, keeping an eye out for the cook. He didn't want anyone to overhear—except maybe Suigetsu, because he wanted the mist nin to know he was over him and that his cheating ways weren't bothering him so much anymore. "But I just wanted to say, I just…,"

He focused on Neji, trying to make it appear like a normal conversation to passers-by. "I never really thought I'd have an emotional connection to someone. That made it harder for me to leave. I would have left earlier,"

Neji nodded encouragingly.

"Neji. I know you're a reasonable person," Sasuke continued, trying to keep his voice leveled. "Try empathizing with me. If you were me, would you go back to Konoha to visit you?"  
Neji thought about this.

"I would have done differently," he admitted. He shrugged. "I am different from you, Sasuke. I do not leave things undone and unexplained. I would have gone back to explain myself, but…," he trailed off, because the cook had come over with Sasuke's order and a bowl of vegetable soup for him.

"Yours will come in a sec," he promised. Neji nodded at him.

"It's fine," he put his spoon in the soup. Sasuke ignored his food, so eager to hear Neji's response he couldn't eat. Not yet.

"…I cannot say how you felt at the time, and how you've been feeling for these past two years that prevented you from ever wanting to see me again, is not uncommon. It is human nature not to want to face those you know you've permanently scarred, because you don't want to feel the…,"

Neji trailed off again, but not because of the cook. But because he knew he didn't have to finish for Sasuke to understand. And Sasuke did. He would have reached over and squeezed Neji's knee if it wasn't for the fact they were in a public place.

"Neji," he said hoarsely. "Thanks,"

Neji looked away. "It's no problem. It's not your fault I'm still in love with that asshole Sasuke Uchiha,"


	18. Chapter 18

Deidara went back into the room, flustered. He blew a lock of hair out of his face and closed the door behind him as he joined Sasori in the storage room again. Sasori looked up when he heard the door click shut. _Deidara? _

"Sasori, I have to tell you something," the blonde guy's voice was down the other end. Sasori heard him scuffling, then he appeared into view. There were red splotches on his pretty face. Sasori was crouched and was in the process of re-organizing his shelves.

"Um…what is it?"

Deidara looked around, even though he knew they were perfectly alone.

"Well…you know how we're…,"

Sasori nodded, his heart rate skyrocketing again. _What was he trying to say_? Deidara took a deep breath.

"I don't think we should do it anymore,"

Sasori's breath caught in his throat.

Deidara, on the other hand, was completely oblivious. Surely Sasori wouldn't mind: after all, they weren't even emotionally connected. Deidara guessed that the only thing Sasori would miss was sex. It was definitely something worth missing to the blonde nin, and he knew Sasori would feel the same, in the face of Hidan's random little investigation. But still, he couldn't bring himself to tell Sasori the real reason why, and—

"Why?" Sasori asked, trying to keep his voice level. His hand felt weak, like he'd just been injected with an extra-strong dose of his own muscle-slackening drug. He put the jar down so Deidara wouldn't know he was shaking.

Deidara shook his head. "I just don't think it's safe anymore,"

Sasori raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You didn't care about that earlier,"

"I guess I wasn't thinking," Deidara said simply. He looked sadly at Sasori. After he took care of Hidan, he would come back and explain. And hopefully, the proud Sasori would understand and they could continue to be friends with benefits despite the little hitch.

Sasori felt like they were breaking up, even though they hadn't begun. There was a lump in his throat. _I bet this is about Hidan. I bet it is. _He hadn't felt like this in his life, like his whole word was crashing down around him in millions of shards and no one could make it all better again. His eyes felt watery and he looked down.

"Fine,"

Deidara cocked his head to the side. Sasori was handling this as he expected, but there was something…

"Are you _crying_?" Deidara asked, he took a step forward. Sasori patted his eyes with his sleeve, trying to act nonchalant.

"Nah," he said. "It's just the powder in this jar. I've always been…kind of allergic,"

Deidara's brow furrowed. "Okay," he said, worriedly. "Then…I'm gonna go,"

Sasori looked up at him momentarily and nodded. "Bye, Deidara,"  
_Don't go! _His heart screamed.

"Bye,"

* * *

**Prepare for Valentine's Day!**

**Long stemmed roses – 82 ry****ō**** each**

**Bouquets (choose from various designs) – 327 ry****ō**** to 816 ry****ō**

**Cards – 33 ry****ō**

**Pre-ordering is recommended for the roses, as the best go first!**

**See in-store for more gift ideas and details.**

Sasuke patted his money bag involuntarily. He'd completely forgotten that there was such a thing as Valentine's Day, despite the fact that the event had been marked by endless chocolate boxes and flowers ending up on his door step when he was back in Konoha. He always got bento, too, especially from Sakura and Ino. Sasuke sniffed. He had never really been into the whole thing, especially since it meant everything even remotely romantic was going to be overpriced on the day. But…

Sasuke thought of Neji, who had gone back to the inn to take a shower, since he didn't the night before. Sasuke had offered his own clothes, but Neji said he'd brought his own. Maybe this was a sign. Valentine's Day. Neji's confession at breakfast had made Sasuk'es heart leap and lit his face on fire. Figuratively, of course: whenever he thought about it, his cheeks burned and tingled happily, like his pores were dancing in celebration. Sasuke had been speechless, and couldn't say anything back. And as if on cue, Neji's own set breakfast came and they both focused on eating. But the atmosphere was completely different.

Sasuke licked his lips, contemplating. If he gave Neji something on Valentine's Day, he would totally nail it. Neji would probably think he was slightly lame, because he, too, received many gifts on Valentine's, but since it was from Sasuke…

"Planning to buy something for your girlfriend?"

A guy who was probably in his late twenties hauled a huge box out to the front of the store and dusted his hands on his checked apron. He smiled widely at Sasuke, his eyes twinkling. Sasuke didn't know how to respond.

"Uh…yeah. Not really. I'm just—,"

"C'mon," the guy teased. "Don't be shy. Girls only play hard to get to see how far you'd go to get them and how much you want them,"

The guy opened the box and took out a roll of metallic wrapping paper. It glinted strongly in the sunlight.

"Have a go. Give her some roses, and see what she says. If she likes you, she won't be able to resist,"

Sasuke nodded. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. He followed the guy into the store.

"So, you'd like to pre-order I'm assuming?"

Sasuke nodded. "Um…yeah. I mean—,"

He was _so _not used to this. The only thing he'd ever bought Suigetsu was aspirin, when he got a headache after a night of particularly heated sex on a cold night.

"Don't be shy," the guy swiveled around and took out a notepad. It was all lined up in columns and rows. He clicked open a pen. "Is this your first time or something?"

Sasuke nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Guy like you, you probably have girls chasing you all the time. This shouldn't be so hard right?"

Sasuke smiled. _It's not for a girl. _But, of course, he couldn't tell the guy _that. _That would just be—

"Or is it for someone else?"

Sasuke looked up, completely shell-shocked. The guy laughed, like Sasuke's expression was the most hilarious thing in the world. But then he stopped and smiled gently. Even though Sasuke guessed he was only around 28, there were laugh lines around his eyes.

"I've spent years and years helping my father run this store," he said, his voice soft and understanding. Sasuke felt a little bit. "You think I don't know when I see a guy who isn't…?"

Sasuke smiled again, the apples of his cheeks pink. The guy laughed softly.

"What's his name?"

Sasuke didn't answer. The guy clicked his pen open and closed.

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me," he flipped to a new page. "Those poor girls…," he sighed in mock disappointment. "But that lucky guy, right? Okay. So what do you want to give him?"

Sasuke thought about this for a moment. Did Neji even like flowers? Wasn't Hinata the flower-arranging person in the family? Did that mean Neji was put off flowers and didn't want more for his house?

"Do you think guys like flowers?" Sasuke blurted, his face reddening even more. He couldn't believe this shopkeeper knew his deepest secret, but then again, he would probably never see the guy again. He could have denied the fact that he was into guys, but he knew that the guy would see through it, and Sasuke would feel even more embarrassed.

The shopkeeper nodded, putting the pen to his teeth. "Sure. No rule saying guys can't like flowers on Valentine's,"

"What do girls usually get guys on Valentine's then?"

"Ah," the shopkeeper waved his pen at Sasuke. "Now that's the wrong thing to ask. _You're _not a girl, are you?"

"Yeah, but—,"

"Girls give their boyfriends something for the stomach. Chocolates, cookies, usually hand-made. But the lazier ones, and the one who don't trust their culinary skills, buy them and make them all pretty. Speaking as a man, I don't mind what my wife gives me, as long as she shows me she's still in love with me,"

This made Sasuke smile.

"But I'm just speaking generically. There's usually a lot of thought in Valentine's Day gifts. You wanna make yours stand out, and if you're giving it to your boyfriend, you want to show him that you know him well and you give him something you know he'll love," the guy paused. "Besides yourself of course,"

Sasuke thought about this. What _did _Neji like?

"Let me help you out a bit here, you look mighty confused,"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah…I am,"

"What's his favourite pastime?"

Sasuke furrowed his brow. "Um…I think he likes training,"

"Training?"

"Yeah. Like his mind,"

The guy nodded. "Ooooohhh. You like that kind of guy, huh?"

Sasuke glared at him, but he was smiling just like a guy in love.

"You know what? I think he would like flowers,"

"Why?" Sasuke shot back instantly.

"Because guys like him appreciate nature. I mean, I don't know how, because it's pretty damn boring to me, but what can I say? Ever wondered why people who meditate listen to the sounds of the leaves rustling and all that?"

Sasuke nodded again. The guy kind of had a point.

"Okay," he agreed slowly.

"But probably not roses," the shopkeeper went on. "I think he'd like orchids,"

"Do…do you sell orchids?"

"Of course I do," the guy chortled. He gestured behind him. In a shiny, pale pink pot, was a beautiful orchid lily plant. "May not look like it, but I do. But they're more expensive, because they're harder to maintain" he warned.

Sasuke nodded. Nod, nod, nod. That was all he did when he was here.

"I don't mind,"

"Of course you don't," the shopkeeper replied. "Now what's your name?"

"Sasuke,"

"Sasuke," the guy repeated. He wrote his name down in one column. "So you'll want them on Valentine's Day, or do you want to decorate them yourself and I'll give them to you tomorrow?"  
"Uh…I'll get them on the day,"

"Alright…so you want just the one?"

Sasuke nodded. From that moment on, he didn't think this was a bad idea at all.

"So that will be 735 ryō,"

Sasuke gave the money to him. He got five ryō change. The guy wrote out an invoice for him, and stamped PAID on his notepad.

"Good luck," the shopkeeper said. "I think he'll like the orchids,"


	19. Chapter 19

"Hidan,"

Deidara swiveled the chair around to face the Jashinist, who was sharpening some of his weapons. There was a whole tray of gleaming blades and sharp things next to Hidan's feet.

"Yeah? Got something to say, blondie?"

Deidara gnawed on his lower lip. Now that he had officially cut Sasori off—he could really focus on helping Hidan out with the Itachi thing. Not that he was even that interested, but it would really cover up his footsteps. The footsteps that lead him to Sasori.

"I forgot to ask you," Deidara said. "Do you have any new leads on Itachi?"

"Ah," Hidan replied almost instantly. Deidara wondered if he had been waiting for him to ask this question. Hidan held the oversized scalpel to his eyes. "I have something for you to lose sleep over," he said mysteriously, grinning widely at Deidara.

Deidara looked at him. "Yeah. Of course. Now shoot before I fall asleep and you'll have to carry me back to my room, hmmm?"

"_First, _I won't carry you back to your room," Hidan put the scalpel down on the other side of his leg into another tray of what seemed to be filled with antiseptic. Then he picked up a razorblade. "I'd stab you until you wake up...or until you die,"

"Haha," Deidara said sarcastically.

"_Second…_when Kakuzu and I went to go cut of some guy's head again, we bumped into this kid,"

"K…kid?"

Hidan laughed and rolled his eyes. "I don't mean it literally. Dude, Itachi may have a lover but I don't think he's a pedophile,"

"Oh," Deidara wrinkled his nose.

"He was just standing in the middle of the road, and then all of a sudden Itachi comes out of the bushes. Says he's been following this blue-haired nut. Would you believe it? And it totally looked like they had something going on,"

"Oh, Hidan," Deidara spread his fingers out in front of him and checked out his nails. "He _could _have been following him,"

"Nuh-uh," Hidan wagged the razorblade at Deidara. "I could feel it. That guy was definitely Itachi's—,"

"Hidan,"

Deidara looked up. Sasori was standing there, and it seemed like he was trying to ignore Deidara's presence. He was pulling it off very gracefully.

"Yeah?" Hidan got up and walked over to the redhead.

"Your…,"

Sasori placed the blade carefully in Hidan's palm. It was very sharp, and Sasori had asked for it because he needed something to help him cut open a particularly stubborn seal.

Sasori knew he had been right from the beginning. Deidara _did _have something with Hidan. Not that he'd heard anything remotely suggestive come from either of their mouths, but their being together, especially after Deidara's, well, dumping of Sasori meant something right? Deidara didn't usually make trips over to someone else's room and talk to them.

Sasori felt his heart thud loudly against his ribcage in protest, wanting to deny it vehemently. They could be discussing something else. _Could _be. But Sasori didn't think that way. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Deidara when he left.

"Man," Hidan said, tossing the blade onto his desk. "That Sasori is a weird guy,"

"He's just a man of few words," Deidara mumbled, picking at a loose thread. "Unless he's talking about art,"

"Art splart," Hidan teased. "I don't care. I just care about his secrets,"

"He doesn't have many to keep,"

"And you would know?" Hidan fired back.

Deidara hesitated. "I don't know, un,"

"So anyway, I think Itachi and Kisame have fucked of on some mission. So it's not like I can confirm anything anytime soon, un_less _we find that kid again…but I doubt it. Guy like him, he probably needs to lie low, especially when his boyfriend is gone,"

Deidara sighed. "This is going nowhere,"

"No! Don't say that," Hidan got up out of his stool for a moment and stretched. "All will be revealed on Valentine's Day. You'll see,"

* * *

"Neji?"

Sasuke opened the door. It was completely silent, and the shower didn't seem to be running. He walked cautiously across the room, just in case Suigetsu had silenced Neji or something and was waiting to pounce out at Sasuke.

Sasuke pushed open the bathroom door slowly. No one. His heart pumping was loud in his own ears. He walked over to the sink and saw a note, all folded up, with its sides exactly lined up. He opened it with shaking fingers.

_Sasuke, _

_I can't stay with you. I had to think about this a lot, but…this is what I have come to. _

_No, _Sasuke thought. He continued reading.

_I thought maybe this could have been a new beginning for us, and I appreciate all the explaining you have done to me in an effort to win me back…and you have, emotionally, but as you may well know there are certain barriers that prevent us from truly enjoying ourselves. You're a missing nin, and you're not on good terms with Konoha. At least officially; you have many friends here, still, thinking about you. But if anyone sees you—you're arrested, and I will probably be stripped of any title I may have by being with you. _

_You can't care about that, _Sasuke said, as if Neji could hear him. _You can't take reputation over me...can you? _

_I'm heading back to Konoha. I've already been gone too long. Everyone will be suspicious. _

_I hope that our paths will cross again. But if not, good bye, and take care._

_Neji._

_What? No 'I love you'_? Sasuke read the letter again and flipped it over, but it was blank on the other side. He looked around the bathroom: there were no signs that showed Neji had even taken a shower.

_Wait! _Sasuke thought in his head. He folded the letter up quickly and tucked in in his pocket. He went outside and opened the drawer under his bed, taking everything out. He sheathed his katana and put on his black jacket. If he started now, maybe he could catch up to Neji. He flew downstairs, his coat whipping around his heels. He tossed the keys onto the reception counter. There was no one there, but they would figure it out.

Sasuke made one more stop before he left the town.

The shopkeeper looked up, surprised at how Sasuke looked. Like a man on a mission.

"Would it be a problem if I have the orchids _now_?"

The guy looked at Sasuke in bewilderment, but nodded slowly, as if he understood. He probably did.

"Just a moment,"  
He swiveled around on his chair and entered a back room. Sasuke's heart was racing way ahead of him.

"Here,"

The shopkeeper handed Sasuke a large thing wrapped in delicate paper inside a bag. Sasuke knew the bag hadn't been part of it, but that the shopkeeper had put in there for him. There was a drawstring around the sides of the pot to secure it. Sasuke held it carefully. He exchanged a look with the shopkeeper that said everything.

"Thanks," he said. He fished around in his pocket for some money and put a sizeable amount in the tips box. "Thanks for helping me,"

The shopkeeper smiled gently. "I'll help anyone whose lover is on the run," he said. Sasuke nodded. "Bye,"

And with both his arms around the orchid lily pot, he ducked back out again.

"Sasuke," the shopkeeper said to himself. "What a guy,"

* * *

"Sasori no Danna,"

Sasori looked up. Deidara again.

"I don't want to see you right now, brat,"

Deidara watched as Sasori clamped a lid over the pot full of reddish, earthy powder.

"But I have something to expl—,"

Sasori looked up at him. What was he going to _explain_? That he was now fucking around with Hidan and not _him? _Well, he wasn't gonna hear it.

"Whatever,"

Deidara paused for several moments.

"You're not allergic to Paralyzing Dust," he declared suddenly. Sasori froze in his movement.

"I saw it. That was Paralyzing Dust, and you aren't allergic to it,"

Sasori looked up slowly. "So what?" he asked, even though he knew full well what Deidara was hinting at.

"So…you were crying," Deidara pulled on that loose thread again. "Why?"

Sasori sat back on his butt, not saying anything, his hand resting on the lid he'd just put on the pot.

"Sasori?"

Deidara took a step forward.

"Can you just go away?"

"Not until you tell me what's up,"

Sasori frowned some more.

"Isn't it obvious…what's up?" he said slowly, his voice dotted with hurt and nerves.

Deidara had a hunch, but he—

"I like you Deidara," Sasori said.


	20. Chapter 20

**An extra-long chapter because I felt like it! Enjoy=)**

**

* * *

**  
"You _what_?" Deidara said, a little more loudly than he really meant to. But given the situation at hand, he guessed it was kind of appropriate.

Sasori just sat there, letting his confession sink in. He felt a bit better now that it was out in the open, but also a little tenser because he was waiting for Deidara's acceptance or rejection of the idea that maybe they could be a couple instead of sex buddies.

"I mean," Deidara cupped a hand over his mouth. The tongue on his hand licked his lip nervously. "Do you mean…that you _really_…?"

"_Yes_," Sasori said, closing his eyes and trying to untangle all the knots he felt in his muscles. He exhaled slowly, trying to be patient. For the first time since they started canoodling with each other's bodies, Sasori wished Deidara was a little more perceptive, and a little faster at catching onto things, because this was just killing the puppeteer, all this waiting.

"Is _that _why you cried?" Deidara said, not very tactfully. Honestly, he couldn't think of anything else to say, no matter how many times he picked his brain. _Well you could've said something better than _this, _you fool, _a voice inside Deidara taunted.

_Oh, shut up, _Deidara shot back, feeling only slightly crazy. It was true that he could have handled the situation better, but—

"This is really sudden," Deidara added before Sasori could answer. Sasori looked up at him, with nothing on his face. _Sasori, ever the poker face. _

"I know," his partner replied. "But I had to tell you before you moved in on someone else,"

"Huh?"

"Just saying," Sasori said. He didn't want Deidara to think he'd lost sleep over the possibility that the blonde was leaving him for the likes of Hidan. What did that Jashinist have that he didn't have anyway? Besides the ability to stab himself on end and not die. _Actually, _Sasori thought, _I can do that too…to some extent. _Then, maybe it was Hidan's personality. Loud, brash, with _shit _and _fuck _as his everyday vocabulary; he wasn't a remarkable guy…_seriously, what is there to like_? Sasori thought jealously.

"Sasori," Deidara said, wide-eyed. "I'm not seeing someone else,"

"Oh? Then why do you not want to see me anymore?"

Deidara sighed, his shoulders slumping. He walked closer to Sasori and knelt down next to him.

"It's not because of what you think. But once…erm…once Valentine's Day is over, it'll all be okay and we can be together again,"

"In what _way, _though?" Sasori argued. "And why after Valentine's Day?" _Why can't we be together on Valentine's Day_?

"In…um. I don't know. And don't ask me, un,"

Deidara didn't know what to think of Sasori actually _liking _him. The thought that maybe all these late night sessions hitting the bed and tangling the sheets would turn into actual love. The question was, did _he _like Sasori? The immediate answer was yes. He did like Sasori, but not in that way. Or did he? Was he just in denial? Were all these years of calling him "danna" a sign of affection, not of respect? Deidara didn't know. But he did like Sasori, he really did. Even though they disagreed on art, Deidara always admired Sasori's ways. But he would rather skin himself alive than to admit Sasori was the better artist, so he'd lived his Akatsuki life denying any influence from the redhead, and would purposefully pick arguments with him.

Sasori said nothing. _What _exactly was happening on Valentine's Day? He would have thought Deidara was planning something special for him, but that didn't work out with everything else the blonde said. And he wasn't seeing someone else—Sasori knew he was telling the truth about that.

Deidara looked at the expression on Sasori's face, which, for once, showed some form of emotion. It was like the still, lifeless pond of Sasori had finally had a little pebble thrown into it, and, for the first time, ripples were fanning out across the surface. Deidara forced himself to think in clear, concise words.

"Um…danna, just wait a moment,"

Deidara turned and walked out, reaching behind him and fiddling with the ends of his blonde ponytail. He had come to the conclusion that it would work. Yes, it definitely could. What had influenced him to think this way was the memory of that night when he had replaced himself with the puppet while Sasori was sleeping: that warmth he felt unraveling inside him when Sasori was all curled up next to him. He didn't notice it at the time because he had been too paranoid and worried about Hidan seeing, but now that he thought about it, it was definitely there. If that wasn't a sign that he wasn't just into Sasori for his body, then he didn't know what it was.

But first things first. He had to get rid of Hidan, or otherwise…_and NOT after Valentine's, _Deidara commanded, just to himself. He'd seen the expression Sasori wore, clearly thinking of Valentine's Day, and why Deidara was acting all cagey about it. Deidara was hit with a pang of worry that he was really hurting the guy. He probably already did, anyway, with the whole breaking up thing. Okay, so it wasn't technically breaking up but—whatever.

"Hidan, we need to talk,"

The Jashinist looked up at him, a strange expression plastered across his face.

"Weren't you here, like, a few seconds ago?"

"Yeah,"

There was an awkward pause.

"I have something to say,"

"Well no fuckin' shit," Hidan rolled his eyes. "Shoot. And it better be important, because—,"

"I like Sasori,"

"Oh? You found out abou—wait, _what_?"

Hidan stopped mid-polishing. He stared at Deidara with a look of complete disbelief. Deidara had felt better pinning this on himself than Sasori, so instead of saying "Sasori likes me," he said it the other way. It was probably true anyway, since it didn't feel forced coming from his mouth.

"I. Like. Sasori," Deidara said between short, staccato breaths. Hidan opened his mouth a bit, but no words came out.

"I just came here to tell you that, so you wouldn't…look into Sasori anymore,"

Hidan smiled all of a sudden, but it was more friendly than any other smile he had ever given Deidara. Ever. It surprised the blonde nin so much. Maybe pigs could fly after all, if Hidan could smile like that.

"No offence," he said, despite the amiability his face showed. "But I always thought you were kinda _gay_,"

Deidara rolled his eyes. Thankfully, the conversation had turned into one of those spats he and Hidan had. Thank. God.

"Is it just because I look like a woman to you?"

"_No_," Hidan said. "I'm not that shallow,"

"Uh, yes you are, un,"

"Just a feeling I had. Like the same feeling I have around Itachi, except Itachi's is much stronger. And does he look like a chick?"

"Not at all,"

"So there," Hidan said triumphantly. "I'm not _shallow_. But that ain't the point here,"

The silver-haired man sighed wistfully. "Good on ya, blondie. You got someone before Valentine's Day," he paused thoughtfully. "Even if it's a guy, and it's Sasori,"  
"Wait…so you're not going to bang on to everyone about us?"

"Deidara," Hidan chuckled. "I know where to draw the line,"

It was kind of ironic, considering Hidan swore like a sailor all the time—actually, he was probably much worse—and badmouthed Pein but Deidara wasn't about to protest.

"It'll be our little secret. Not that it'll be so hard for the others to notice anyway," Hidan eyes glimmered suspiciously, but Deidara already felt light as a balloon.

* * *

Sasuke had lifted up his large black coat and slung the orchid over his shoulders so even if it rained, the water won't destroy the crepe paper. He raced onwards. Neji couldn't have gotten that far—Sasuke was faster than him. He was sure to catch up if he kept going at this pace…and he wasn't about to stop. He'd lost Neji once, and he wasn't about to let him go twice.

But even so, Sasuke felt worried that he wasn't going to catch Neji in time before he reached Konoha. Just paranoid, because…he really wanted Neji back.

Some light drizzling whipped at Sasuke's face as he ran. He felt the pot with one hand, just to check if it was still intact, even though there was a very, very low possibility it would break.

_If only I had the Byakugan, _Sasuke thought, _and not the Sharingan. _

He kept running. And he would definitely keep running until he found Neji.

* * *

Neji looked up. The sky was so grey it was almost black, and it had stopped raining for the moment, but it was sure to rain any moment soon. Neji slowed down a little. Maybe he should find a place to stay until the weather settled down. He looked at his surroundings. There wasn't a person in sight, but there was a small shelter nearby. It was like an ancient wooden gazebo. Neji wrung out his sleeves and briefly wondered if Sasuke had read that note yet. It was definitely a bit late now. The Uchiha would be back, and he wasn't stupid enough to overlook the note.

Neji closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him.

* * *

_Fuck. _

Sasuke skidded to a halt beneath a large tree. The sky had started pelting raindrops at him. It was a good thing his coat was waterproof. But even so…

He reached behind him and swiveled the orchid bag around. It seemed perfectly fine. He fingered the soft material and blinked a few times, willing himself not to be too upset over Neji leaving him. Maybe it was a test. Yeah, that was possible. _I'll risk it, _Sasuke thought. He put the orchid back into its original position. Neji wasn't far from here. He knew it in his heart.  


* * *

  
Suigetsu kicked back and sucked his yoghurt drink. It had started raining,a dn he wanted to go out for an afternoon-evening swim, but he'd thought again and decided not to. This was definitely a moment for relaxing.

But if only Itachi was here.

Suigetsu frowned to himself. This was one of the bad things about Itachi; with Sasuke, he never went very far without him. But of course, because they were both part of Hebi. They worked together, even when they were apart. But he wasn't in Akatsuki. And as a result, he could never really be near Itachi. Kisame—_Samehada!—_was with Itachi way more than Suigetsu ever had been, the lucky bastard.

_Thud. _

Suigetsu sat up and looked at the door. That definitely wasn't thunder—was it?

_Thud. Thud._

Suigetsu got up slowly, still drinking yoghurt through the straw. He opened the door cautiously and poked his head out. The rain had eased a little, and, instead of coming down in grey sheets, they were just coming down in slow but frequent plops. Suigetsu reached out behind him and, with his toes, dragged Zanbatou towards him.

"Heey. It's you again,"

Hidan walked over and wrenched the pike from the face of the stone compound. He avoided looking at Suigetsu, trying to appear perfectly normal, as if he always visited this place.

Suigetsu relaxed a little. It was that silvery-haired guy from earlier. Itachi said this guy was called Hidan, and he was an avid Jashinist. He also swore a lot. By the way Itachi said this, Suigetsu guessed the Uchiha didn't have a big tolerance for swearing.

"Damn this rain," Hidan said. He brushed flecks of rock off his pike and blew on it. "But I have to train in it, because Kakuzu says I'm too slow,"

Suigetsu nodded. _Why is he talking to me again_?

"What about you?" Hidan said. "Sleeping in there or something?"

Suigetsu shrugged and leaned against the doorframe, slurping away. Hidan looked around.

"Well, I'm gonna head back if you—,"

"Wanna come in?" Suigetsu asked, out of the blue. He didn't want Hidan, really. He just wanted some company. And maybe if Itachi saw, he'd get jealous and be all cute and pretend he didn't care his lover had been hanging out with another Akatsuki member.

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "Why the fuck would I wanna do that?"

Suigetsu shrugged again. "Keep me some company,"

_This guy isn't nervous at all, _Hidan thought, slightly pleased at the invitation. After all, the whole point of him coming here was to catch Itachi out. _He really thinks I don't know. He really thinks that I think he's just a friend of Sasuke's._

Hidan nodded and had to duck his head to get inside. He sat on the old water pump.

"How's Sasuke?" he asked purposefully. Suigetsu, however, didn't show any reaction. But inside, he was thinking about his ex-boyfriend and what he was doing at that very moment.

_Oh, Sasuke. You were such a fool. _

"He's fine. Want some?" Suigetsu offered his yoghurt drink to Hidan, who shook his head.

"I don't do healthy stuff,"

"It's great-tasting healthy stuff," Suigetsu egged, feeling slightly flirtatious. Hidan sniffed in disapproval.

"I'm more of a meat guy. Sorry kid,"

There was silence as Suigetsu finished off his drink, crunched up the carton and threw it aside. The pattering of rain outside increased again, and thunder rumbled outside.

"It's really fucking dark in here. How do you see anything?" Hidan asked, rubbing his eyes. His red scythe looked a deep, blood red in the darkness. Suigetsu sighed.

"I'm just relaxing here. Not trying to write scrolls or something,"

"Well I can't fucking see," Hidan whined. It was a big window into his personality, which Suigetsu was tickled pink by. It was a huge difference, to be faced with two silent-as-the-moon Uchiha brothers, and then suddenly by this guy who worshipped the evil God, and therefore probably had a thing for heavy abrasions, who talked like everyone gave a shit about what he said. Suigetsu almost nodded in approval.

"Maybe I should get some candles. Or a torch,"

"You don't know any fire jutsu?"

"No," Hidan said. "Do you?" he added accusingly.

Suigetsu put up both his hands in defeat. "I'm a mist nin,"  
Hidan huffed.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"  
"Which village do you come from?" Suigetsu asked. This guy really _was _kind of slow.

"Ummmmmm," Hidan itched his head, like he had forgotten. Suigetsu hoped not. He'd seriously think this guy was a dumbshit if he did. "Yugakure,"

_Isn't Yugakure that place where…yeah. It is. _Suigetsu thought.

"I'm guessing you didn't fit in there?"

"Fuck no. I hate that place. That guy who lived next to me? When he found that Jashinist symbol drawn on my wall? He took me to the town elders and told them alllllll about how badly influenced I was. Then those old geezers told me to respect the peace of the village and to stop my ways unless I wanted to be exiled or some shit,"

Hidan took a breath after his long speech, glancing at Suigetsu, who was nodding as he listened.

"So what did you do?"

"I killed them," Hidan replied simply, like that was the only logical way to solve anything.  
"Who?"

"Oh, just my neighbours. Then I left that fucking town and now here I am,"

Suigetsu nodded as if he understood. Quite frankly, he didn't care about Hidan's life story, but it was better than just sitting here and listening to rain falling.

Hidan stood up and stretched. "Enough of this shit. I'm going back ho—to the, um, Lair,"

He looked at Suigetsu. "You gonna be safe here? Do you want me to stay here and take care of you and feed you and all that?"

Suigetsu picked his nails. "Can I come with you?"

Hidan furrowed his brow. "Uh. What?"

"I have something to leave for Itachi," Suigetsu grinned widely. Hidan thought about this for a while.

"Pein will fucking kill me if I showed you where the Akatsuki are," he said. "So I'll have to knock you out before I take you there,"

"Are you sure that's necessa—,"

Suigetsu couldn't finish his sentence, because Hidan had thumped him over the head with the blunt end of his pike.

"O_kay. _Come on, Itachi's boyfriend,"

Hidan picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. He picked Zanbatou out on his way out and ducked some more as he walked out into the rain.


	21. Chapter 21

**Countdown to Valentine's: One and a half days.**

**Time: 5:15 pm**

Sasuke wondered what time it was. With the torrential rain and the elephant-grey clouds overhead, he couldn't really tell, but he knew he'd been running for a while. _Neji can't be far from here, _he thought, slowing down. He sidestepped so that he partially sheltered under an abandoned stall. He wrung out his sleeves, his pants and his coat. Cold water dripped from the ends of his hair and onto his face, making it look like he was crying. He reached into his bag and got out the stuff he had changed out of yesterday. He wiped his face with it, not caring that it was probably unhygienic. He sneezed. His clothes were sticking to him and usually he hated this feeling, the feeling when the rain made the fabric cling to his skin, but he was too anxious about finding Neji to even notice. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and set out again, at a slower pace. He walked for a while, until he sensed some movement nearby. Not too close, but not too far. He looked to his left. Too bad there were no footprints to be seen, since the rain had seeped through the dirt and turned it into sloshy, heavy mud. But between the trees, there was a makeshift pathway. It was tiny, but it definitely led to _some_thing, didn't it?

Sasuke's quieted his heavy panting, trying to breathe slow and controlled breaths. Up ahead, he could see one those dark brown wooden porches and…

Sasuke's chest thudded and he walked over to Neji.

Neji looked up, not entirely surprised by Sasuke as he swept under the roof of the gazebo. Neji watched as the Uchiha didn't even bother to take off his obviously heavy and saturated clothes and just headed over to him, his every step making squelching noises on the floor.

"Neji," Sasuke said breathlessly. Neji looked drier than him. Probably because he had reached this place before the rain had _really _started bucketing down. Sasuke reached behind himself, moving his black coat out of the way. He untied the orchid from him and held it out awkwardly to Neji.

"I got this for you,"

Neji was surprised, however, at how Sasuke wasn't asking him why he left, and did he love him anymore? Neji looked at the thing in front of him. It looked like a potted plant of some sort. And although Sasuke was dripping wet, the soft crepe paper that was loosely wrapped around the plant was completely dry. Neji reached out slowly to accept it.

"What is it?" he asked peering at Sasuke. Sasuke just looked at him intently.

"Open it,"

Sasuke's heart leaped into his throat as he watched Neji's delicate hand find where the crepe paper started and peeled it back. His hands were shaking visibly and this time he didn't bother to hide it. His Adam's apple moved up and down as he swallowed.

Neji gently peeled away the last of the wrapping paper. His face softened when he saw the little orchid lily twisting out in front of him. He fingered the edges of the pot and couldn't help but smile.

Sasuke's heart did another leap—this time, of pleasure, not out of nerves—when Neji smiled. He took a step forward, his knees touching Neji's bent ones.

"Do you like it?"

Neji gave a little, short chuckle. He touched one of the blossoms and looked up at Sasuke.

"Yes," he answered simply. His cheeks were pink, and Sasuke thought he was the best looking guy he'd ever seen. Not that he'd never thought that way—he always thought Neji was this perfect looking guy. He was always so flawless. But right at that moment, it was the only thing that popped into Sasuke's mind. Neji left the plant in his lap and he looked up at Sasuke. The guy had raindrops running down his face, because his hair was still trying to get rid of the water it had soaked up when Sasuke was running through the rain. He looked undeniably sexy. Neji put the plant aside. He stood up. He and Sasuke were very close now, the tips of their noses almost touching. Neji reached up with his sleeve, because it was pretty much dry, and wiped the area beneath Sasuke's right eye. Sasuke couldn't help but just look at Neji as he did this. Into those Hyuuga-exclusive pale eyes, wrought with concentration as he continued to wipe Sasuke's face; and since they were pretty much the same height, Neji couldn't help but notice every little detail on the Uchiha's face.

Sasuke leaned forward a bit, just to see what Neji would do. The rain continued their relentless onslaught. The tip of Sasuke's tongue darted briefly between his lips. Neji paused in his wiping and looked at Sasuke seriously, but otherwise his face gave nothing away. He was not inviting Sasuke to kiss him, but he wasn't trying to deter him either.

Sasuke reached up and held the hand which Neji was wiping him with and was sure to hold it tightly this time. He inched forward, his lips moving in anticipation. It wasn't like kissing Neji was anything _new, _but…after that two year gap, it certainly felt like something new. He wondered if he tasted different, if his lips felt different.

Their lips touched. It was like someone had touched a cut wire to Sasuke's lips and electricity was coursing through every little nerve. He tilted his head slightly to the side. Neji's lips were warm and soft. Sasuke's were a little cracked but greatly dampened by the rain. He tasted a bit salty.

Sasuke pressed his mouth further down hungrily. His other hand slithered up to Neji's shoulder. Their heads moved as they kissed. Sasuke was the first to incorporate some tongue. He opened his mouth a little wider and allowed his tongue to slide between Neji's lips, licking around. Neji's jaws slackened, and Sasuke knew that this was his permission. Neji wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and pulled him closer.

Valentine's could've been canceled for all they cared.

* * *

_My God, this brat is getting kind of heavy. _

Hidan almost wanted to drop him as soon as he walked into the Lair, but at the last minute dumped him on the dining table instead. There was no one in sight. Hidan put the giant sword next to him and took off his Akatsuki coat, annoyed.

"I fucking hate RAIN!" he shouted to no one in particular. His voice echoed slightly in the gloom. Shirtless, he slung the wet coat over his shoulder and was about to dump it in his room when Kakuzu came out of his room, carrying a bunch of keys. His eyes skipped over Suigetsu.

"Hidan…," he said in a tone that sounded almost paternal, like he was thinking _there has to be a good reason for this, and you're going to tell me, son. _

"Oh! Hey Kakuzu," Hidan stretched out his sore muscles and stabbed his pike into the ground. "Look what I brought,"

He looked at Kakuzu expectantly, but then remembered Kakuzu didn't know about his Valentine's Day revelation-of-Itachi's-secret-love life-plan.

Kakuzu would have rolled his eyes if it wasn't for the fact he was in a rush.  
"That's nice," he said hastily. Then he disappeared into a puff of grey smoke. Hidan raised and lowered one shoulder in a shrug, then looked down at Suigetsu, who was still out.

"Sorry," he said to the unconscious guy. "I had to,"

Hidan left the dining room, wanting to take a good, hot shower.

* * *

Deidara hugged Sasori tightly. He'd come back and told Sasori everything, about Hidan, about why Deidara had been so cagey and wanted to stop their relationship, and about how he'd told Hidan about them. Sasori thought it was the smartest thing the Iwa nin had ever done in his life.

Sasori never hugged that much before. He knew now why people yearned to be touched and loved all the time. He smiled to himself.

"So does this mean we have to celebrate Valentine's Day together?" Deidara withdrew from the hug and grinned mischievously at Sasori. Sasori played with the ends of Deidara's fringe.

"I suppose," he said, his mind already whirring with ideas about how to surprise Deidara.

"Hmmmmmmm," Deidara tapped his fingers against Sasori's collarbone as he thought. He looked so damn cute. Sasori kissed him on the lips quickly, and when he drew back again he was blushing his ass off. Deidara smiled.

Then his stomach rumbled.

"Looks like I'm hungry," he said, looking down at his stomach. He patted it. "Wanna come make some dinner?"

Sasori nodded. Kakuzu had just left, Kisame and Itachi were still out and Hidan knew about them—this was the perfect time to bask in their coupledom. The two walked outside, Sasori still too shy to hold Deidara's hand, when he saw the pale-blue haired boy just lying there on the table.

"Whoa," Deidara walked over to the table. Was this the guy Hidan had been talking about? Itachi's lover? Deidara had to admit, Itachi didn't strike him as a guy who liked…these types.

Sasori blinked impatiently. He'd much rather cook with Deidara than have to watch over this kid. His eyes spotted Zanbatou.

_He must be…_

"Did Hidan just bring him in? Or Kakuzu?" Deidara asked. The guy was positively drenched. Whoever brought him in obviously didn't give a shit about whether or not he caught a cold. And Deidara's recently acquired boyfriend-ness made him inclined to cover the guy up or something. He looked around the room and found nothing, so shed his own Akatsuki coat and threw it with a flourish over the guy's body.

Sasori watched with disguised interest.

"Do you know him?" he asked. He knew at once he was going to be one of those jealous types. He knew Deidara was probably being nice, but—

"Nope, un," Deidara said innocently. He looked at Sasori and held him by the waist. "But at least now I'm pretty much naked riiightt?"

Sasori nodded in agreement. Deidara's upper body was freaking hot. He leaned in for a kiss when Hidan walked in the room.

"Guys! Guys, _seriously_,"

The Jashinist's voice cut through the air like a knife. Sasori drew away from Deidara, but Deidara didn't look go of his waist.

"Can we keep the PDAs to a down low while I'm around?" **(Author's Note: PDA stands for Public Displays of Affection.)**

Hidan waved his arms about as he toweled himself off. He was wiping his arms when he walked over to Suigetsu.

"Isn't he cute?" he cooed. Sasori hoped he wasn't serious. "Look at his little teeth,"

He used the same towel and plopped it over Suigetsu's neck, giving his chin area a little bit of a wipe. Roughly. Sasori rolled his eyes.

"Let me do that," he said.

He looked down at Suigetsu and patted him gently, his face growing hot. Well, this was new, cleaning up a human instead of cleaning _out _a human.

"Since when did the Akatsuki become a babysitting service anyway, hmmm?" Deidara asked, clearly addressing Hidan and not Sasori, even though Sasori was the one patting Suigetsu dry.

"I'm not babysitting," Hidan answered. "I'm merely helping out Itachi and bringing his little friend back here so he doesn't have to find him in that shitty water pump again,"

"What water pump?"

"You don't know it?" Hidan said in disbelief. Deidara shrugged and looked at Sasori.

"The old one," Sasori said. "Down the road,"

He straightened up again and put the towel next to Suigetsu's head.

"Yeah, that one," Hidan chirped. "Fucking breaking down, that building is,"

Suigetsu moved a little. Three Akatsuki member's heads turned down to look at him, but he didn't wake up.

"Sooooo. Were you guys gonna make dinner?" Hidan asked. "Cos I want some,"

Deidara exchanged a glance with Sasori, smiling. His cheeks were starting to ache from grinning so much. "Yeah. But I don't know what we're maki—,"

"You'll figure out," Hidan flapped a hand dismissively at him. "Now stop acting so newlywed around me, it's making me taste my lunch,"

Sasori glared at him. Deidara always admired how Sasori's looks could intensify but he could still look blank. Hidan seemed to shrivel under Sasori's scowl.

"Well, I mean, don't you think it's the least you could do? I _am _keeping you guys a secret after all,"

Deidara patted Sasori on the shoulder. "Let's cook some eggplant," the blonde winked. Sasori smiled.

"Blech! Okay, okay," Hidan licked his lips decisively. "Do whatever. I'm going to wait till this guy wakes up,"

He pulled out a chair and rested his chin in his elbow, humming tunelessly while drumming his fingers against the table, making loud tapping noises.

* * *

They were stripped down to the waist. The wetness of Sasuke's skin had slicked off onto Neji, so now they were both slightly damp. The wind was blowing again, making the rain come down slanted, and the drops flicked against the slight curvature of Neji's back and dribbled down into his pants.

Sasuke's top had come off easily. Neji had reached in and let his hands roam around. Sasuke had grown up quite nicely, and, even though he was clearly not a bodybuilder, he had nice ripples of muscle here and there. The sounds of their kissing were loud, even against the rainstorm. Sasuke was obsessed with Neji's back. He couldn't stop running his hand up and down. He nudged Neji backwards, against one of the hexagonal wooden posts, and as their mouths separated for just a moment, Neji let out a small groan. Sasuke hooked his fingers around Neji's pants, ready to go a bit further.


	22. Chapter 22

As the chicken sizzled in the pan, Deidara leaned his butt against the counter and nodded at Hidan.

"He thinks that's Itachi's lover," he said. "Doesn't look like his type, does it, hmm?"

Sasori pouted a little. "I guess not," _Does anyone else not give a shit about Itachi? _Seriously, Sasori didn't care.

Over at the dining table, Suigetsu rolled his head to the side and moaned, his eyes crinkling. Hidan looked up from his spell of boredom.

"Hey," he said, flicking a finger against Suigetsu's cheek. "You awake there, brat?"

Sasori walked over and took a seat. Deidara shrugged and turned back to the stove.

Suigetsu put a hand to his temple.

"Owwww. Shit,"

Suigetsu's body bucked a little and he opened his eyes slowly. He was obviously in pain.

"Oh my God,"

"Oh, stop complaining, you baby," Hidan resumed his tapping of the table. "It was only a little bat to the head,"

"You batted him in the temple?" Sasori asked, his voice flat as always. "Are you stupid?"

"Not you too, Sasori,"

"Not what?"

Hidan stopped tapping and pointed at Sasori instead. "You're worrying about this kid? Because he's Itachi's boyfriend and you guys are all birds of a feather now?"

Sasori rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You could very well have killed him, Hidan,"

Hidan shrugged sheepishly. The stove was flicked off by Deidara and Sasori heard the clinking of porcelain.

Suigetsu looked at Zanbatou—thank God it was here with him—then at Hidan. He sat up suddenly and wanted to slap him in the face.

"Oh look who just woke up," Hidan grinned maniacally. Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"You're a real fucking psycho," Suigetsu snapped. He drew up his knees and he kneaded his temple. It was pounding like crazy, and he couldn't think straight. Even the room looked foggy. "You didn't have to do that. You could've just blindfolded me,"

"Nah. Knocking you out was easier," Hidan said flippantly. "Now get off the fucking table, dinner's ready,"

Suigetsu groaned and slowly tried to slide off, taking Zanbatou with him. He sat two chairs down from Sasori, who didn't even give him a second look. Deidara came by and gave Sasori his plate, and then sat down at his own chair.

"Get your own, Hidan," Deidara said before the Jashinist could intercept with an obvious "where the fuck is mine?" quip. Hidan sighed heavily, as he had just been asked to take out the trash for the tenth day in a row, and got out of his chair loudly, cracking his neck by bending it from side to side, and then moving on to his knuckles.

Suigetsu looked at the blonde, then the redhead.

_Wow, _he thought. He decided to nickname them ketchup and mustard, until he found out their actual names.

Mustard made a neat incision in his cutlet, speared it on a fork and pointed it at Ketchup. "Say aaahh danna," he said playfully. Ketchup rolled his eyes, but he blushed like crazy and deftly ate the chicken from Mustard's fork. Suigetsu was surprised. He didn't realize Itachi wasn't the only gay person in the Akatsuki. The mist nin licked his lips. Maybe this would be fun after all. He leaned forward and scratched his head, messing it up. _Damn, _his head hurt so much. He was about to close his eyes and drift off into a well-deserved nap when Hidan practically slammed a plate down in front of him.

"Don't say I never fucking made it up to you. You can eat my vegies," he announced. Suigetsu looked at him. "Are you serious?"

Hidan shrugged and sat across from him. Since the rest of Akatsuki weren't around, they didn't really need to sit in their designated spots. Suigetsu watched tiredly as Hidan stuffed his chicken cutlet in his mouth and tore it apart with his teeth. Mustard and Ketchup were way more civilized, and were being like lovebirds at the end of the table.

_When is Itachi coming back? _He groaned inwardly as he picked up his spoon and stuffed peas into his mouth.

* * *

Sasuke kissed his way down Neji's body. Down the middle of his chest, to his bellybutton, he paused for just a moment. His hand was still hooked around Neji's pants. Now was probably the best time to—

"Sasuke,"

Sasuke looked up. Neji was hot with pleasure, but his tone was one of warning.

"Not here,"

Sasuke didn't listen. With a simple movement, he had pulled Neji's pants down. Neji let out a little gasp as Sasuke's mouth touched him…_there. _

_Fuck. _Neji swore in his head. He never swore much, and he never really thought it was that necessarily in his life, but he _had _to. It just felt…amazing.

Neji felt a surge of something different, something that tingled through his entire body. He nudged Sasuke backwards onto the floor and got on top of him.

"Sorry," Neji whispered. "I just have to have you,"

He bent forward and his tongue flicked against Sasuke. "_Now_," he added, then he took Sasuke's face in his hands and kissed him deeply. It was a little known fact that Neji was actually an openly take-charge person, but Sasuke knew it, because the many times they had done this—Neji had _always _ended up on top. Like now. The Hyuuga nuzzled Sasuke's neck and traveled downwards. Sasuke breathed loudly in anticipation, his crotch area growing very hot indeed. It'd been ages...ages since he'd felt like this, lightheaded, fuzzy, but not from nausea or illness. He almost couldn't help but look down, even though he knew it would increase the intrigue if he didn't. Neji opened his mouth achingly slow, then he engulfed Sasuke's package. Sasuke's eyes rolled back a bit and he reached down. He touched the top of Neji's head lightly. Strands of Neji's hair swept down and brushed against the sensitive insides of Sasuke's thighs. The rain outside slowed down momentarily, as if urging Sasuke to cherish each and every nanosecond he had Neji going down on him.

But Sasuke didn't need to be told.

"Neji...,"


	23. Chapter 23

"You want to stay here and wait for Itachi then, yeah?"

Mustard looked at Suigetsu, waiting for an answer. The blondie had been the only one who was fucked to come out and check on him, even though the mist nin was pretty sure he and Ketchup were busy making a hot dog in their rooms.

Suigetsu shrugged, slightly touched by the nicety. "I don't when he's gonna come back," he said, letting the sadness creep into his voice. Mustard coughed into his fist.

"He won't be too long, un," he said. "He doesn't…_usually _take that long. Maybe tomorrow morning,"

Then he left.

Suigetsu nodded at Mustard's back and looked back again at the Lair entrance which he knew he couldn't leave from, because he didn't know how to. Maybe he could ask—

"You're still fucking here?"

Suigetsu looked up. Hidan brushed a loose strand of hair from his face and stood with his hands on his hips, not seeming to notice that his pike was stabbed through his right chest. Suigetsu fingered the blade of Zanbatou and didn't answer. He had learnt very quickly during dinner that if there was one thing Hidan didn't need, it was motivation.

"Look, Itachi's not gonna be back any time soon. So I suggest you get some sleep, or else that Sharingan bastard is gonna have my ass kicked for allowing you to stay up all night,"

"Touching," Suigetsu said. He leaned back on his arms. "But I'm not sleepy,"

He was half-lying. He had yawned a few times in the past half-hour. But he guessed it was mostly because he was bored too.

"Do whatever," Hidan said. "Just don't let me catch you wanking or something,"

"What about you?" Suigetsu shot back. He looked over his shoulder at the Jashinist.

"What? Are you asking me if I wank?"

"_No_," Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "What are you going to _do_?"

Hidan rubbed the back of his head. He'd never really had a person take interest in what he did, and he had to admit, he was getting a warm fuzzy feeling from the attention. "Um. Pray? I guess,"

It sounded lame out loud, but all Suigetsu did was nod. "Your religion, right?"

"Yeah,"

Silence.

"Maybe you should stay in Itachi's room," Hidan said. He jerked his head in the direction of the dark hallway which Suigetsu hadn't wanted to walk into uninvited. And because he was too anxious about Itachi coming back any minute. "It's just down this way,"

Suigetsu made a show of sighing heavily and grabbed Zanbatou. He didn't want to leave it here in case Kisame took it. He followed Hidan, who stopped at his own and just nodded in the general direction of Itachi's room. "Three doors from this one. Now fuck off, little one,"

Suigetsu didn't look back. One of the doors he passed was closed, and Suigetsu thought he heard muffled kissing noises coming from within. He shivered a little and walked into Itachi's room.

Like Itachi, it gave nothing away. Organized, nothing personal hanging around, just a desk, a chair, a bed and a lamp. And a closet. Suigetsu opened it. There were just clothes inside, and a shoebox. Suigetsu didn't bother. He closed it and went to the bed. He slid Zanbatou under it and kicked off his shoes.

"Time to relax," he said to himself.

* * *

Sasuke panted. He was almost there—_there. _He let out a loud moan before sighing in relief—Neji relaxed beneath him and Sasuke withdrew. The rain had stopped, and the only sound was the water running off the roof of the gazebo and slowly dripping off the edge. Sasuke got off Neji and rolled around onto his back. He was sweating his ass off, he hair plastered to his red face. He looked at Neji, who was pretty much in the same state as him. Sasuke smiled and reached over, brushing Neji's hair back.  
"I love you," he whispered, so softly he didn't know if the Hyuuga could hear him. But he did, and he turned to face Sasuke.

"I love you too," he said.

Sasuke smiled. It was bittersweet. He suddenly remembered why they were here in the first place—he rested his hand on Neji's sexy bare shoulder.

"Are you…are you still leaving?"

Neji paused for a second, apparently deep in thought. Then he slithered over to Sasuke.

"Don't think about that, Uchiha," he breathed. "I'm here now,"

"But—you're not going to go after this, are you?"

Sasuke suddenly felt like he was going to cry again. Like Neji would leave in the morning before Sasuke woke up and by then he would surely be back in Konoha. And most importantly, completely out of reach for Sasuke.

Neji sighed, relenting. He got up and pulled on his pants.

"Sasuke…," he began, but he didn't even have to finish because his tone gave it all away. Sasuke stood up and grabbed Neji by the shoulders. The Hyuuga avoided his gaze.

"Neji, please,"

_You don't want to leave me. Tell me you don't. _

Neji said nothing.

Sasuke felt himself blubber like a baby. This was getting really fucking ridiculous. Sasuke Uchiha _didn't _cry. He didn't beg, he didn't plead, he didn't—but Neji Hyuuga made him do all of those.

"You can't go," Sasuke said. Neji looked at him mournfully. He reached out and gently grasped a lock of Sasuke's hair, stroking it.

"I have to, Sasuke," he said gravely. "I can't become a missing nin like you,"

"I…,"

Neji bit his lip. Sasuke looked so…lost. Without Neji, he had nobody. It was certainly a tough decision. Neji knew it wasn't his _job _to keep Sasuke happy all the time, but…

"You and I," Neji began. "We both want different things. You joined Orochimaru for your reason and I…," he paused. "…I stayed in Konoha because of mine,"

"But—,"

"Sasuke," Neji said. "Grow up. Not everything will go your way,"  
"But you can't leave," Sasuke said helplessly, not caring how he sounded. "You can't. Not you too…,"

Neji felt his heart ache. He took a step forward and hugged Sasuke tight, a thousand thoughts flapping around in his head, making him dizzy.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," he said. Sasuke closed his eyes.

* * *

_**The next morning**_

_**Countdown to Valentine's: One day. **_

_**Time: 4:30 am.**_

Sasuke stirred. Birds chirped loudly. He groaned a little, having slept on the hard-ass wooden flooring of the gazebo. He reached behind himself to sleepily massage his back—

Neji!

Sasuke sat up suddenly, his eyes flying open. He looked around.

Neji was gone.


	24. Chapter 24

_No. _

Sasuke got up and, in the midst of gathering all his things, knew that it would already be too late. _He _was already too late. The stuff dropped from his hands with a clatter and Sasuke Uchiha fell to his knees.

First Suigetsu, and now Neji. Were they ever going to stop leaving him?

* * *

Suigetsu pressed his face into the pillow as the early sunlight crept in. He groaned in protest and pulled the blanket further up his face.

Itachi watched, amused, hypnotized by Suigetsu's sleeping form. He had always watched Suigetsu sleep, whether it be in the morning before the mist nin woke up or if Itachi couldn't fall asleep. And he was always bewitched by just how plain _hot _the guy looked.

Itachi had come back not too long ago, and even though there was no one in the Lair to exhibit any strange behavior in some indication of Suigetsu's presence, Itachi knew he was here. But he didn't know how he got here, or why. It made the back of his neck prickle.

"Do you like my surprise?"

Itachi whipped around. Hidan—of all people!—stood in his doorway, his entire bulk blocking it. Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"This is your idea of a surprise?"

Hidan shrugged. "Just tell me you like it,"

The older Uchiha had not the foggiest of ideas what the heck was going on, but it was clear Hidan was stringing him along. Itachi fixed him with his stare.

"Hidan…," he said warningly.

"What?" the Jashinist eyeballed Itachi. The two glared at each other, the beamlike gaze of each clashing in the cool dawn air. Hidan's was of a smug determination, because he knew what was up and he was going to pull Itachi out to confess it; it would take a lot of work, of course, Itachi was a _much _more formidable opponent than Sasori or Deidara, but since he and Suigetsu's relationship held true, he knew he was going to be the victor in the end. Itachi's was one of glowering suspicion, annoyance and a dash of contempt. He never _really _despised the Jashinist, despite his tendency to rattle on and all that swearing too, but at that very moment he felt like there was a loose but powerful grip around his heart, and that made him feel nervous and threatened. Which meant he kind of hated Hidan now.

"Hidan?"

Kisame came up to the Jashinist, who shuffled over immediately, jerking his head in the direction of Itachi's room. Itachi's face grew hot.

_Dickhead. _

Kisame peered in his head cocked at the scene. He grinned widely, showing his rows of tiny sharp teeth. Just like Suigetsu's.

"Well lookie here," Kisame boomed. He fingered the end of Samehada. "If it isn't Suigetsu Horuki,"

Itachi didn't have to give his partner a look that said _if you say anything, I will fuck you up; _Kisame knew better than that. All the blue-haired nin said next was, "Can I have a look at his sword?"

_No, _Itachi said in his head, but he didn't dare to say it out loud, because then he would just be walking into Hidan's nasty little game. He just shrugged.

"Play with your own sword," Hidan chortled at his double entendre. Kisame just rolled his eyes and Itachi couldn't help but sigh a little in exasperation. He was tiring of that Hidan, really.

Kisame hmph-ed and walked away, and Itachi could tell he was just a little bit miffed and disappointed that Itachi didn't just fork Zanbatou over. Hidan, however, stayed and just watched.

"Why are you up so early?" Itachi questioned, looking at Hidan. It was only four forty five, after all. He vaguely remembered that occasionally the Jashinist _did _have early morning calls due to his religion. Itachi figured it was probably another form of Jashin's call for masochism, getting his followers to wake up early just to stab themselves. Well in Hidan's case it was stabbing and shrieking and maniacal laughing. Itachi was sure that the other followers didn't do all of that, because not all of them had achieved Hidan's highly desirable level of invincibility. Itachi wondered briefly, crazily, if Hidan got any sexual gratification out of all that self-inflicted punishment. He was, after all, a masochist. But maybe not that kind of masochist. _Whatever, _Itachi thought. Why was he thinking about this anyway? Not like he really cared either way.

"I actually woke up a bit late," Hidan replied. "I was meant to do this ritual thingy, but I didn't sleep till late last night doing another ritual thingy. So you see…,"

He yawned and stretched. "Actually, I better get to it or Jashin will kill me," he winked at Itachi. "I'll leave you two alone,"

* * *

Deidara moved a little in Sasori's arms, but otherwise stayed asleep. Sasori's eyelids fluttered and his grip around Deidara tightened, but they both slept on beneath the cover of Sasori's blanket and in the warmth of each other's presence.

* * *

Neji was glad that it was still early yet, and the only people he had to talk to were Kotetsu and Izumo, who were given the dreaded graveyard-slash-early bird shift at the gates. Kotetsu yawned and let Izumo do all the official work.

"Good morning, Neji," he said. "Been out training it up again? Under a waterfall?"

Neji faltered a little, because he didn't know if Izumo was serious. Then again, Hiashi did that all the time. Maybe he could pull this off.

He nodded. "Yes,"

"Christ," Kotetsu said, resting his tired head in his arms. "Don't know how you can do that and stay so healthy,"

Neji glared at him, but not because of what he said, but because he really wanted to leave.

Izumo nodded. "Alright. Go home and get some sleep already,"

As Neji walked over, Izumo jotted the Hyuuga's name down in the logbook, along with the time and reason. Neji felt his heart soar in relief. He passed. It hadn't exactly been a difficult test, but this stuff was recorded, and he would have been damned if they asked him more about it, because he really didn't know exactly where that waterfall was. Not that it _really _mattered—he could have just used his Byakugan to pinpoint its exact location. But he really didn't want to do all that.

"Don't you think Neji acted a bit weird?" Izumo put the end of the pen between his teeth and twisted it around. Kotetsu yawned and shrugged.

"I don't _know, _I just want to _sleep,_" he complained, for the one hundred and thirty sixth time ever since their shift began. Yes, Izumo had kept count. "Maybe he has a secret girlfriennnddd out there or something," he added, sounding like he was drunk. Izumo rolled his eyes.

"_Your _girlfriend will dump you if she sees you like this," he shot back. But in his mind, he didn't really doubt that Neji maybe had a secret affair. He smiled a little. It was time the Hyuuga got one, anyway. _What happy lives we all live. _He sighed and threw down his pen.

"Don't worry, Kotetsu," he said. "Our shift is almost over. Just…another…hour," he leaned back in his chair and yawned despite himself.

Sasuke walked towards Konoha, his shoulders thrown back and his chest puffed out. It was early yet. And he would fool those Konoha nin. Definitely. He leapt up to a tree and looked down. He recognized the two guys on guard at the gate, and there were a couple others scattered around the perimeter. None of them had seen or detected Sasuke just yet. He pulled his coat further up his face. It was colder here. He glanced behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed and then continued forward.

* * *

When Neji turned around, it was too late.

"Argh!"

He flew backwards into the trees, he hit one and his body was thrown forward again. He opened his eyes slowly.

Sasuke.

Neji's eyes widened. He looked around, but no one was here. What happened to all the guar—

"I took care of them," Sasuke said, his eyes piercing. Neji had seen those eyes before; it was before Sasuke killed. They were lifeless and merciless. Neji's hand clasped around a tuft of grass, and he wondered fretfully if Sasuke had _killed _all the guards. _No. He couldn't have. _

Neji stood up slowly. There had been a small knoll in the tree trunk, and it had dug into his back hard, and he was sure there was going to be a huge bruise. He glared at Sasuke.

"You left me," the Uchiha said simply, like what he had just done to Neji was well-deserved by the Hyuuga because he had left.

"So?" Neji huffed. "I explained to you, Sasuke. There's nothing you can do abou—,"

Neji stopped speaking because Sasuke had unsheathed his katana. The thin blade reflected a bit of the dawn sun as the black-haired guy swung it around slowly, obviously trying to taunt Neji by taking his time and allowing the implications of this action to sink in.

"Sasuke," Neji said. "What are you—?"

"I'm making sure you don't leave me again," Sasuke said. He gave the katana one last swing then charged.


	25. Chapter 25

Neji leapt out of the way just in time: Sasuke's katana swiped past him and just grazed his shoulder. _Is he really trying to attack me? _

The Hyuuga assumed a defensive stance quickly as Sasuke kicked off the tree and took another swipe.

_Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin__! Rotation!_

Sasuke flew off despite the basicness of the defensive move. Of course, its effectiveness had increased now that Neji was stronger, but—

"Sasuke!" Neji panted. "What are you…?"

Sasuke pointed his sword at Neji. "It's because of _you_," he said softly. He licked his lips slowly, threateningly. "You come and you let me get a taste of you…and then you leave. You're no different from that bastard, Suigetsu,"  
"Sasuke?" Neji couldn't help but say. Who _was _he? And…

"Come now," the Uchiha continued. "You don't think you can actually defeat me, do you?"

Neji said nothing, because quite frankly, he knew he would not win. What powers Sasuke had obtained from Orochimaru, Neji did not know, but he didn't want to know. The stench of foul power reeked from Sasuke's body.

"What…what do you want?"

Maybe if he stalled it out long enough, people would start noticing that Sasuke was here and then—

"Come with me, Neji," Sasuke said. "It's that simple,"

The Uchiha had had enough of crying and weeping and all that shit. He'd had this feeling consume him when he realized Neji was well and truly gone, the only trace of his existence left there in the gazebo was a single leaf from the orchid plant. Sasuke had picked it up and crushed it.

"Sasu—,"

Sasuke threw a punch at Neji, who blocked it with his forearm and ducked as Sasuke tried another one. Neji was about to fight back when Sasuke's fist darted out of nowhere and connected with his chin. Neji cried out and flew even deeper into the bushes. Through his half-closed eyes, he saw the Sharingan.

_Dammit, _he thought.

Sasuke crouched over him. "Come with me," he said again. "I don't have to do this,"

* * *

Suigetsu woke up. Itachi jumped up a little as the mist nin moaned and rubbed the side of his head.

"Itachi?"

Suigetsu stopped mid-rub and grinned at him. "Hey," he said softly.

Itachi smiled. "What's wrong with your…your head?" he asked.

"Ohmygod," Suigetsu rolled his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "That Hidan guy knocked me out and brought me here. He said…um…Pein, is it? Pein would kill him if he revealed to me the location of the Akatsuki Lair…so…,"

Itachi nodded. At least Hidan was a _bit _smart.

"Stop talking," Itachi said. He patted Suigetsu's head and leaned forward, kissing him. "Let's go get something in us,"

"Besides each other?" Suigetsu laughed and slid off the bed, following Itachi to the kitchen. Neither of them noticed Hidan, who was standing down the hallway, watching them.

* * *

Neji followed Sasuke wordlessly. They were out of Konoha again.

"Sasuke," Neji caught up with the Uchiha. "You…,"

At first, Sasuke glared at him, but then his gaze softened. "What is it?"

Neji swallowed hard. He didn't know what to say, exactly. He just felt like a complete mess, and didn't know whether or not to try and escape Sasuke again and flee to the Hokage, Lady Tsunade. But that would make him seem terribly cowardly, and that would just bring destruction to both the Leaf and Sasuke himself. Neji shook his head.

"Nothing,"

Sasuke stopped walking and faced Neji. His face was difficult to read.

"You know why I bought you that orchid?"

"What?"

"The orchid lily," Sasuke said.

Neji shook his head.

"Valentine's Day is tomorrow," the Uchiha explained, a little mournfully, but there was a spot of color in his cheeks and a glimmer in his eye. "I…I was hoping you would spend it with me,"

Neji's brow wrinkled. He was starting to really consider that Sasuke had bipolar. Seriously, the guy was trying to kill him and now he was just trying to be nice? What was this?

"Um…,"Neji said. Sasuke stared him down. The Hyuuga grew uncomfortable. Then the Uchiha wrapped him in his arms and hugged. Tightly. So tightly that Neji's breath almost got cut off.

"Just this once," Sasuke said softly. "Spend it with me, then I'll leave,"

"Sasuke," Neji exclaimed in confusion. "You just tried to have me killed for _leaving _you!"

Sasuke released him and looked him in the eyes. "There was no other way to have you come with me like this," he said seriously.

Neji rolled his eyes.

"You could have asked very, very politely," Neji chided. Sasuke pushed him away.

"That would not have worked, Neji, and you know it," he answered coldly. Then he coughed and resumed his softer state. "Please. This is all I'm asking,"

Neji eyed him critically. He didn't want to spend another Valentine's Day alone either, but he'd just left Konoha without a word, and without having his name jotted down…he could be in shitloads of trouble. But—

"Alright, Sasuke," he said. "Just this once,"

* * *

_**Time: 7:00 am.**_

"It's too fuckin' early for this shit!" Hidan slammed his fist on the table. Kakuzu next to him growled.

"Shut up Hidan,"

"Shut up, Hidan," the Jashinist mimicked Kakuzu, who glared at him. "I don't want to go on another _mission. _Can't I just go out and kill anyone I want?"

"No," was Kakuzu's answer. Hidan sniffed and looked at Suigetsu, who had been drinking massive amounts of water and was onto his eleventh cup.

"Do you want to piss heaps or someshit?" Hidan asked him. All his previous excitement at having found Itachi's lover had faded away to be replaced by what seemed to be a morning grumpiness, even though he seemed perfectly chipper before.

Suigetsu looked at him strangely. "Uh, what?"

"Then why are you drinking so much water?"

Suigetsu frowned. Hidan was getting more and more ridiculous by the second. He was glad that his partner—Kakuzu—was taking him away soon.

"Leave him be," Kakuzu growled. "And hurry up and finish your bacon, we need to leave if you want to come back ASAP,"

Hidan huffed and picked up the plate, shoveling everything down into his mouth in one go. Suigetsu grimaced.

"Okay. Let's just fucking go,"

Hidan couldn't wait for Valentine's.


	26. Chapter 26

"Deidara, we have a mission,"

Sasori pulled on his coat and buttoned it up to his chin. He looked at his partner, who had heard him and was packing dense cubes of clay into his bag.

"Lucky us," Deidara smiled foxily. "Spending Valentine's Day away from here,"

"Well, we could have done that anyway," Sasori replied. "It would just be suspicious, that is all,"

Deidara sighed happily. This year's Valentine's would go ahead very nicely indeed. "Here's your scroll," he said, handing one over to Sasori. It was the one which summoned the Third Kazekage puppet. Sasori smiled and tucked it into his sleeve.

Deidara walked over to him and paused a little. He looked into Sasori's eyes and smiled sheepishly.

"You look happy today, yeah," he said, his voice kind of teasing. Sasori nodded and nudged him away, not wanting to reveal the blush that crept across his cheeks.

"Let's go, brat," he answered. He threw Deidara a look over his shoulder. The Iwa nin rolled his eyes. The mouths on his hands chomped audibly in anticipation of the mission.

"Coming,"

Suigetsu and Itachi looked up as Deidara and Sasori came by, walking side by side. Suigetsu smirked at them. The blonde guy nodded at him, but that was all they did.

"Are they going out on a date?" Suigetsu asked once they disappeared. Itachi took a delicate bite of his toast.

"No," he said. "Pein has a mission for them, finally," _I've grown sick of doing all the work, _he thought.

"What is that?"

Itachi shrugged.

"Come on," Suigetsu nudged Itachi's foot under the table. "Let's go somewhere today, Uchiha. We deserve it,"

* * *

Neji and Sasuke stopped at the side of the road. Sasuke looked nervously at Neji, not knowing what exactly the Hyuuga was thinking. Sasuke had known the attack was a genuinely bad idea, but…it was the only way. Neji wouldn't have keeled if he'd just asked him to come out with him. _Does he still… love me? _

"Neji, I just—,"

The Hyuuga held up a palm. "Shush, Sasuke,"

"Wh…,"

Neji thought it over once more in his head. Was he sure that he could come out of Konoha every time, without fail? Was he sure that he would never be followed? Was Sasuke never going to stop loving him, as he would never stop loving Sasuke? There were so many questions, so many things that made his sudden idea seem dumb and flimsy, but…

"I have a proposition for you,"

He looked at the Uchiha, still slightly hurt by the guy's attack. His back and his forearm hurt. But he was even more emotionally damaged, because whenever he looked at Sasuke, he would ultimately remember that stabbing pain in his heart when he left him two years ago. Neji had trained every day after that, accepting Hiashi's every order, every invitation, because he wanted to get his mind off of Sasuke. When Hinata asked him to please go out and get something for him, he did it, and when Hanabi was sick, Neji offered to take care of her until she got better. He closed his eyes and waited for Sasuke to answer.

"What…what is it?"

Neji walked closer to Sasuke and rested his head on his shoulder. He was tired of it all. Tired of everything. He wished Sasuke wasn't a missing nin. He wished Konoha didn't want to lock the Uchiha up. Then everything would be okay. He sighed into Sasuke's shirt.

"Let's just go," he said cryptically. "And let's spend every Valentine's Day together…but other than that, do not come and find me. I will not come and find you…but," he looked up into Sasuke's eyes. "Every February the fourteenth, we will meet. Yes?"

Sasuke exhaled loudly. He had been afraid, so afraid of Neji breaking it off completely. This was much better than he thought, although it was kind of sad that they were only going to see each other once every year. Sasuke reached out and held Neji's hand.

"Yes," he said. Because in his mind, he knew he had too many other things to do and visiting Neji once a year was probably the maximum he could do if the Hyuuga didn't become his travel companion. And it was obvious he wasn't about to. He never would, because Neji would never comply by Sasuke's standards. And Neji knew that too.

"I'm sorry,"

Neji ignored Sasuke's apology. He didn't know why he said it, but it sounded so right.

"It's okay, Sasuke," he said, his voice thick with tears. "It's okay,"

* * *

**Valentine's Day**

Hidan propped is legs up on the table and he looked devilishly at Suigetsu who stared back at him challengingly.

"Say a word, Jashinist," the mist nin hissed. "And I will have your head,"

Hidan laughed loudly, throatily, when Itachi came and pushed his head to the side. Hidan's neck cracked.

"Owwww! You idiots!" Hidan craned his neck from side to side. The night before, he had walked back in on Itachi and Suigetsu—_kissing. _Of course, they weren't just in the dining room. Kakuzu had gone to that gross collection office in the bathroom, and Hidan had decided it was time to head back. Kakuzu erupted at him, and had growled at him all night, but Hidan had just ignored him. Then he'd crept up and there he saw it—

"Easy, Itachi," Kisame rumbled. The sharkish man took a drink of water at stared hungrily at Suigetsu's sword. "I know he's annoying, but let's refrain from breaking each other's neck, shall we?"

"Yeah! What he said," Hidan protested. He folded his arms. "Not that you can kill me, anyway,"

Kakuzu took his seat next to him. Now that Deidara and Sasori were no longer here, it was hard to say who would cook. They all knew it was Deidara's secret hobby, cooking. It had been one of Hidan's running sexist joke for a while, about how Deidara looked like a woman and liked the kitchen. Itachi, being the quietly upright man he was (well, to some extent), had always berated Hidan whenever he did this. Not because he cared about the Iwa nin, but because he didn't like sexism. Hidan sighed loudly.

"Any more of that _salad, _Kakuzu? Or did you really let blondie eat it all?"

"It's gone," Kakuzu said simply. Kisame looked in the fridge.

"Well, we can all have a tuna sandwich," he said hopefully, trying to entice the others into seafood that wasn't shark.

Itachi rolled his eyes. Suigetsu laughed and casually put his hand on the Uchiha's knee under the table. Hidan groaned and cracked his neck a few more times.

"Hidan," Kakuzu said. "Isn't it Valentine's Day today?"

Hidan grinned widely. He looked at Itachi and nodded in the general direction of Suigetsu, with a look in his eyes that said _I know what's going on under there. _Itachi's cheeks flamed up instantly and if his eyes could speak, they would have snarled at the Jashinist.

"Yeahhhhh," Hidan answered. He stretched and grinned. Sasori…Deidara, and now Itachi and Suigetsu. This was fucking fantastic.

"It's a wonder you're no longer complaining," Kakuzu said. "Maybe there is a God after all,"

"I don't need to whinge" Hidan bragged. He kept looking from Suigetsu to Itachi. "This is the best Valentine's Day ever,"

* * *

Sasuke wrinkled his nose as Neji set the plate down in front of him.

"What is this?" he asked. He was wearing just a bathrobe, and Neji was fully clothed in a loose outfit.

"It's my favourite," Neji said. He sat down and looked across the table at the Uchiha. "Maybe someday you'll learn how to make it for me,"

Sasuke smiled, picked up a pair of chopsticks and tasted some.

"It's nice," he commented. Neji smiled and piled a spoonful onto his bowl. He nodded at the other dish he'd made. "Here, have some of thi—,"

Sasuke stood up suddenly, pushing his chair back from the table. Neji looked up at the Uchiha strangely.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding supremely annoyed. Sasuke's face broke out into a shy smile.

"Happy Valentine's," he said. And with that, he kissed Neji. As he did so, he opened one eye and pushed a small package into Neji's bag.

It was a bag of orchid seeds.

* * *

"Deidara, what is this?"

Sasori poked the clay form in front of him with a single finger, not daring to touch it for too long, a tiny bit worried it would explode. Deidara swept up next to him and picked it up in his hands.  
"It's for you," he said. He held it out in his palm. Sasori picked it up gingerly between his fingers. Deidara laughed at his trepidation.

"It won't explode, don't worry,"

Sasori closed his fingers around it. "Then what is it?"

Deidara's eyes twinkled. "Just wait until nighttime," he said mysteriously. "Then I'll let you release it into the air, and you'll get something nice,"

Sasori smiled, blushing again. He hated himself for blushing so much, like some lovesick schoolgirl, but…his crush on Deidara had deepened over the past few days, ever since the Iwa nin had accepted him and had even confronted Hidan for the sake of their relationship, and Sasori was eternally grateful for him. He hadn't really done anything for Deidara on this day, but he knew the blonde wouldn't really mind. The redhead slipped the clay thing into his pocket and kissed Deidara on the earlobe, because he knew it was his favourite spot to be kissed, as odd a location it was.

* * *

They all sat there, eating their tuna sandwiches, when Hidan piped up.

"I have something to announce,"

Suigetsu and Itachi looked up in unison, while Kisame grunted and Kakuzu ignored him completely. Zetsu was slithering around somewhere else in the Lair, having come back not too long ago.

"Wow," Suigetsu intoned, trying to make light of the situation. "What a surprise,"

"No, no, no," Hidan said. "This is something _really, really _surprising. You'll definitely wanna hear it,"

"Then hurry up and out with it," Kakuzu rumbled.

Hidan clicked his tongue in excitement. "I invited Pein out to dinner under the pretense of being a single woman," he said. "Do you think he'll go?"

Kakuzu sighed loudly in exasperation. Suigetsu relaxed, and he could feel Itachi do that too. Kisame laughed.

"Leader will kill you," Kisame grinned. He put down his sandwich. "But I think he'll accept your invitation,"

"Oh, I know," Hidan said, leaning back in his chair. He wagged a finger at Kisame. "But remember, I can't die,"

**Thanks to everyone who has ever read this: the views and people favouriting this story, adding it to their story alert etc, is the sole motivation behind me continuing this. It's kind of sad that it's over!**


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